(MENAFN- Gulf Times) A celebrated academician, a recognised historian, writer, lawyer and a teacher of students of foreign and administrative services officers, Prof. Dr W. M. Karunadasa brings with him vast experience of first-hand diplomacy maneuvering and policy analysis to his first ambassadorial assignment.
Handpicked by his country's president as Sri Lanka's ambassador to Qatar, Karunadasa arrived here almost six months ago. He has featured prominently in almost every political and social discourse in his country as an expert and critic.
A practical man in the most realistic manner, Karunadasa has now tasked himself with lifting his country's trade, investment and cultural relations with Qatar to a new high besides enhancing the
co-ordination between the members of Sri Lankan community living in Doha.
At 74, Karunadasa says he feels ever so young. He starts his day early, waking up at 5 and getting to his job straightaway. He eats healthy and remains active throughout the day, carrying out the delicate job till he signs off.
An engaging speaker with a pleasant demeanour, Karunadasa has already made a lot of friends in Qatar, which he calls his second home.
"I really feel it is my second home. Since the time I have arrived here, I have met some great people. I am a man who believes in humanist values and to me all human beings are the same. I have made a lot of friends within the diplomatic community, and outside already," Karunadasa tells Community in a chat at his residence here recently.
Immediate tasks at hand have prevented him from exploring Doha beyond the Corniche so far. But he has already taken necessary measures to put things in place. The Sri Lankan embassy is moving into a new, bigger and better premises in order to accommodate more Sri Lankans on the days of national importance.
The new ambassador has united all the local Sri Lankan community welfare organisations, and established a new complaints centre for the country's expatriates and is preparing to hold a forum for an exchange of investors and businessmen between Qatar and Sri Lanka.
"There has been a downward trend in our trade, investment and tourism relations with Qatar in the recent past. So I'm determined to bring them back to the highest level I can. I have prepared an action plan where I have a six-point approach to promote our trade, aid and investment relations," says Karunadasa.
With the new government in Sri Lanka, he says, the environment for investment in his country is just perfect right now. He is planning a Qatar-Sri Lanka conference on trade and investment in a few months.
The ambassador says there are more than 120,000 Sri Lankans living here. Earlier, the country used to send mostly housemaids but that picture has drastically changed as they are now sending highly skilled people to Qatar, who are employed in the highest posts.
"Among the entire Middle Eastern region, we are getting the highest income from Qatar. The present Sri Lankan government is making a lot of effort to increase the number of skilled workforce to Qatar," reveals the ambassador.
Before coming to Doha, the Sri Lankan community was a little dispersed.
"I got them together. There are some 20 community welfare organisations under our patronage and I got them together in a one-day workshop. The message was sent and now people are behind me to promote our trade and other interests," says Karunadasa.
He has introduced a few changes to the system with the aim to increase the welfare activities. The Sri Lankan community here, he says, is very well connected and they take part in celebrations of all important days, of both Sri Lanka and Qatar.
On some occasions, there would be around 2000 people coming to the embassy. This was one of the reasons they needed a bigger building and are now shifting to a spacious place in the Old Airport area.
Soon, the ambassador plans to introduce a new 24-hour free access helpline for the Sri Lankan community.
Even before coming to Doha, Karunadasa had been well exposed to the Sri Lankan community. He was a distinct scholar in the Sri Lankan university system, having spent 40 years as an historian and regularly contributing to the press and electronic media.
'I have written vastly about political affairs, economic and foreign policy issues besides socio-economic progress. And sometimes I would attack where the weak points are, but I have maintained my integrity by not being biased to anyone," recalls the ambassador.
He has published 20 books in international relations and these books are now part of university curriculum. Most of the people joining Sri Lankan Foreign Service of his country have read his books. He has taught at the Masters and post-graduate level degree programmes. Many of the elite class officers are known to him personally as they have been his students.
"I have been to UK as a Commonwealth scholar. I have also been to United States for a conflict resolution programme where I have been to five states besides visiting all the prestigious universities," says Karunadasa. From his collections, he wrote a book on conflict resolution in Sinhalese which is the single widely-read book in Sri Lanka.
Prof. Karunadasa has been to many Indian cities where he utilised US scholarships to study at different institutes.
"I have been associate professor at the Centre for Commonwealth Studies in the UK in 1993, 1997 and 2005.
He loves books and always keeps them close wherever he moves. And when he is not reading, he is in his garden or has his camera in hand, taking photographs.
"I love gardening. When I was back home, I had my own garden and I grew food for personal consumption," says Karunadasa. He listens to Sri Lankan and Asian music and has a special interest in photography.
"I take my camera with me wherever I go. I have some rare pictures in my collections from the places I have visited," says Karunadasa, adding that the tourism industry in Sri Lanka is reviving and they are now getting tourists from all over the world.
"I want to further promote the tourism industry here. I have been told that the people from the highest stature in Qatar have visited Sri Lanka yet many people do not know much about Sri Lanka," the ambassador says.
"Most tourists coming to Sri Lanka are from the West, Russia, China and other countries, but we want to shift the focus towards Qatar and Middle East as well," he adds.
Recently, he says, he managed to send some diplomats to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka's tourism minister is also planning to come here in February and Karunadasa has big plans to promote his country's culture and tourism here.
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