President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is on a three-day tour of Italy and the Vatican arrived in Rome on Thursday.

Head of Vatican Protocol Office, Msgr. Jose Avelino Bettencourt, Sri Lankan Ambassador in Italy Nawalage Bennet Cooray and Sri Lankan Ambassador in Holy See and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva, Ravinatha Aryasinha welcomed President Rajapaksa at the airport.

President Rajapaksa will have an audience with His Holiness Pope Francis at the Holy See on Friday. Chief Justice Mohan Peiris, Minister of External Affairs Prof. G. L. Peiris, Monitoring MP of External Affairs Sajin de Vass Gunawardena,Chief Opposition Whip John Amaratunga, and Secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs Kshenuka Senewiratne are also accompanying the President during this tour.

Photo: Presidential Media Division

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