Presentation of Letters of Credence by Ambassador Dayani Mendis of Sri Lanka to the Federal President of the Republic of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen
The Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Austria, Dayani Mendis, presented her Letters of Credence to the Federal President of the Republic of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen on 1st July 2026 in the “Maria Theresia Room” in the Hofburg Presidential Palace in Vienna. The ceremony included a Guard of Honour in the inner courtyard of the palace and a courtesy call on the Federal President of Austria following the presentation of credentials.
During the presentation of credentials, Ambassador Mendis conveyed to the Federal President of Austria warm greetings and best wishes from the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Anura Kumara Disanayaka. She reaffirmed Sri Lanka’s commitment to further enhance and strengthen the longstanding friendship and bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Austria and expressed the wish to explore new areas of cooperation, particularly on the economic side for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
Federal President Van der Bellen conveyed his warm greetings to President Anura Kumara Disanayaka and congratulated Ambassador Mendis on her appointment. Observing that there were areas of mutual interest for the two countries to work together, he expressed confidence in the expansion of cooperation between the two countries and strengthening of bilateral relations in the future.
Ambassador Mendis joined the Sri Lanka Foreign Service in 2000. She has held senior positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, as well as at Sri Lanka Missions overseas, including in Washington, D.C., Canberra, Vienna, and Geneva where she served as Deputy Permanent Representative. Prior to her appointment as Ambassador, she served as Acting Additional Secretary of the United Nations and Human Rights Division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism.
Ambassador Mendis holds a Master of Arts in International Politics from the School of International Service at American University in Washington D.C. and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English from the University of Colombo. She is a past pupil of Ladies’ College, Colombo.
The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Austria is concurrently accredited to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Republic of Serbia, the Slovak Republic, and the Republic of Slovenia, and also serves as the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office and other International Organisations in Vienna.
Embassy and Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka
Vienna
02 July 2026
