Leader of the House & Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development Hon Bimal Rathnayake met with Under-Secretary for Relations with States, Monsignor Mihăiţă Blaj at the Terza Loggia of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican on Monday 2 March 2026.
During the meeting he handed over a letter from President Anura Kumara Dissanayake inviting His Holiness Pope Leo XIV to visit Sri Lanka next year. He further conveyed that such visit would greatly enhance multicultural harmony in the country. The Sri Lanka Embassy in Rome coordinated the meeting with the Sri Lanka Permanent Mission in Geneva. Ambassador Satya Rodrigo and Counsellor Diana Perera of the Sri Lanka Embassy in Rome took part in the meeting.