Established in 2004, APSL is an association open to all Sri Lankans in the UK, irrespective of their ethnicity, creed or political affiliation. Our aim is to promote unity and professionalism among the Sri Lankans, foster good will and cultural relations in the UK, as well as support relief and development activities in Sri Lanka.
Since its launch in 2009, APSL's “Ask the Expert” series has provided a platform for members and the public to benefit from the knowledge of experts in their respective fields. The series is designed to make specialised knowledge accessible, with experts breaking down complex topics into clear, relatable discussions. These sessions cover diverse areas including economics, law, medicine, engineering, and business.
Each event features one or more professionals discussing contemporary topics in their field. These discussions are crafted to be easily understood by a wide audience, ensuring that the content remains practical and applicable to everyday life. The series not only fosters learning but also highlights emerging trends and developments across various sectors.
A key feature of the “Ask the Expert” series is its interactive nature. Attendees are encouraged to ask questions, share their thoughts, and engage in meaningful discussions with the experts. This creates a vibrant forum for exchanging ideas, allowing participants to gain deeper insights and apply them in their professional or personal lives. APSL is proud to continue this initiative, connecting the community with expertise and knowledge across a wide range of fields.
Following the recent economic downturn in Sri Lanka, significant policy instruments were introduced including legislative enactments such as the Central Bank Act of 2023 and Public Finance Management Act of 2024. Such policy level changes have profound impacts on government fiscal policies and operations as well as on the role of central bank as the key monetary policy management institution of the country. This webinar provided the opportunity to gain an awareness, as well as insights in relation to the above policy instruments and in particular their impacts on macro economic management of Sri Lanka.
This webinar was presented by Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy possesses over 40 years of experience in policy making and providing economic advisory services on both macroeconomic and structural issues at national and inter-governmental levels. He has worked in the Economic Research, Statistics and Bank Supervision Departments at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (1974-89) and was seconded to Ministry of Finance and Planning. Director, Economic Affairs Division, Deputy-Director, Secretary-General’s Office, and as Interim Director, Social Transformation Programme Division at the Commonwealth Secretariat London from 1989-2008. He obtained his B.A. (Hons) University of Cambridge and D.Phil. from University of Sussex. Led Sri Lanka National Rugby team and played First Class Cricket. “Sri Lankan of the Year 2016“ (LMD). “Central Bank Governor of the Year for South Asia 2017” (Euromoney). Awarded Sri Lankan national honour of “Deshamanaya” in August 2019.
This was the first joint webinar by APSL and the Sri Lankan Professionals Association in the United Arab Emirates (SLPA-UAE) for the benefit of Sri Lankan community in the UK, UAE and Sri Lanka. The webinar was delivered by Professor Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran and moderated by the APSL President Dr. Mahesh de Silva..
Presented by Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy and moderated by APSL President Dr. Mahesh de Silva
Presented by APSL past President, Solicitor and business director Mr. Rohan de Alwis. hosted by the APSL Vice President - Professional Development Mr. Tariq Salih.
“Ask the Accountant” was held at the Sri Lanka High Commission in London with a full audience and three very informative presentations were made by our member-speakers, specialist professionals in their chosen subjects. Mishantha Liyanage, an Independent Financial Adviser presented on the “aspects that should be taken into account when managing finance/tax in small businesses”; Lushani Kodituwakku, Director of Strategic Intelligence at Grant Thornton focused on “the external market dynamics to help a business survive the recession and become more competitive”. Rohan de Alwis, a Solicitor and Company Director of a number of active companies provided “food for thought” on “successful personal investing”. Suraj Wijendra (Financial Controller at Marks & Spencer) chaired this event assisted by Sanjaya Kodituwakku (Financial Accountant at UKBA). This event was mostly beneficial to people who ran their own businesses and for those who were planning to form their own companies and looking into investing opportunities in the United Kingdom.
The event was well attended with a house full of participants from the Sri
Lankan
Diaspora . Prof IM Dharmadasa, President,
APSL
welcomed the speakers and briefly outlined the history of the APSL, its
aims and
activities and events conducted to-date under the Ask the Expert Series. The panel of
speakers
consisted of Mr. P. M. Amza, Deputy High Commissioner, Mr. S. Ekanayake, Minister, Mrs. S.
Wijeratne, Minister (Commercial) and Mr. M.R.K. Lenagala, Minister Counsellor (Political)
and was
facilitated by Dr Andrew Nayagam, Immediate Past President of APSL
Mr Amza’s topic was Diplomatic Relations – The concept and its implementation. The
speaker’s rigorous diplomatic training and years of experience in the field came across
during the
speech. Mr Amza treated the audience to the development of international diplomatic
relations,
Geneva Convention, Diplomatic rights, obligations and immunity using practical examples.
Speaking
about the Functions of Diplomatic Missions , Mr. Ekanayake outlined the many different
services provided by the Sri Lanka High Commission in London both for
the
benefit of the Sri Lankan Diaspora in UK such as registration of births, marriages and
deaths,
issuing new Sri Lankan passports and paying pensions for the Sri Lankans now living in the
UK. Mrs.
Wijeratne outlined the country’s development priorities and the different initiatives being
taken to
promote investment and trade in Sri Lanka. She also mentioned that the Trade Division is
there to
assist anyone who would like to open business relations with Sri Lankan counterparts. Under
‘Sri
Lanka UK Political Relations’ Mr.Lenagala outlined the historical ties between the two
countries
going back centuries. He referred to the ethnic conflict and the effect it had on the
relationship
in the recent past and the steps being taken to strengthen ties.
APSL added yet another dimension to the “Ask the Expert”
Series by hosting the “Ask the Ayurvedic Doctors”.
. Dr Palitha
Serasinghe of
the Ayurvedic Training College of the University of Middlesex (and formerly the Principal of
the
Ayurvedic College in Sri Lanka) lead the highly knowledgeable and experienced Panel of
Ayurvedic
Experts consisting of Dr V. Joshi and Dr Shantha Godagama.
The Experts
compared the medicinal and medical developments of the Eastern world with the scientific
discoveries
on similar matters in the West. Dr Serasinghe highlighted the fact that in Ayurveda, the
root
cause
of the medical problem was attended to by the medical practitioner, while in Western
medicine the
symptoms were primarily treated by medicines. Thus Eastern medicine always took more time to
show
signs of recovery for the patient. Dr Joshi, an Indian Ayurveda Practitioner who has worked
as a
Consultant at the Ayurvedic College in Sri Lanka, who is now a Practitioner in the U.K.
spoke on the
benefits of taking natural herb based medicines and food to help reduce the ageing process
. Dr Joshi mentioned eating fresh vegetables, fruits and taking
herbal
supplements such as Tripala helped to reduce weight and keep the digestive systems in good
working
order. Aralu, Bulu, Nelli had a medicinal impact on the human body to ensure the
balances of
wata, pita etc. Dr Godagama author of a number of books on Ayurveda spoke on the
Management
of Chronic Pain and the scientific research into herbal medicines by
Western
based Scientists.
President of APSL, Mr Rohan de Alwis
delivered the
welcome address. Mr de Alwis made the point that the Sri Lankan
community had
not only access to UK professionals such as the NHS,
but now
through APSL had secured access to their own professionals to ask questions and discuss
concerns
within their own comfort zone.
he High Commissioner, Dr. Chris Nonis congratulated APSL for
having
the capability, capacity and the determination to have as many events to interact with the
Sri
Lankan community on a broad and pluralistic basis and wished his total support to APSL . Dr.
Andrew Nayagam, Leader/Chair of APSL's “Ask the Expert” Series introduced the
panel of
Speakers.
Dr. Marc Dissanayake, General Practitioner & Dermatologist, gave an
overview of skin problems and
discussed
common skin problems such as eczema, itch, psoriasis, urticaria. Dr. Asanga Fernando,
Specialist
Registrar in Adult Psychiatry and Clinical Fellow in Medical Education, Maudsley Hospital,
London
gave a very interesting overview of psychiatric problems and spoke of the myths social
exclusions and fears surrounding mental issues. Dr. Shevanthi Nayagam, Specialist Registrar
in
Gastroenterology, Imperial College, London gave an overview of gastroenterological problems
and her experiences both in the UK and overseas as a medical doctor. Dr. Geethika
Bandaranayake,
Specialist Registrar in Paediatrics, Worthing Hospital presented an overview of problems,
faced by children here in the UK as well as those in Sri Lanka.
The floor was then opened to the audience for questions and a general
discussion took place .The vote of thanks was delivered by Mr. Leslie Dep -
General Secretary APSL.
“Ask the IT Guru” was held at the Sri Lanka High Commission in London with an impressive line-up of six speakers making presentations on “Working with PCs”, “Internet surfing”, “optimising emails” and “Power Point presentations”. Presenters included Mr Mervyn Silva, Rev Prem Fernando and Mr. Mohan Siriwardena. A wide cross section of the Sri Lankan community both young and experienced, took part in the event.
The “Ask the Expert” series was re-launched with a “Ask the Lawyer” event at the Sri Lanka
High Commission by the Association of Professional
Sri Lankans, (“APSL”) in conjunction with the Sri Lankan Solicitors Network in the UK
(“SLSN”)
under the patronage of the Sri Lanka High Commissioner, His Excellency Dr. Chris Nonis. and
Mr. Neville De Silva,
the Deputy High Commissioner, Mr. Rohan de Alwis, President of APSLexplained the purpose of
the
“Ask the Expert” Series, which was to reach out to the Sri Lankan Community and talk about
topics
they wanted to know about and to have an open discussion
Dr. Chris Nonis, the High Commissioner, expressed his admiration for the work
carried out by APSL over the years in many areas including “We Sri Lanka Reconciliation
Events” (to
help promote harmony and integration within the UK based SL Community), the Young
Researchers
Symposium (to provide a forum for young Professionals of Sri Lankan origin to present their
Papers
before an audience of experienced professionals), “Living in the UK” Series (which addresses
the
issues of young second generation Sri Lankans, as well as that of the first generation
parents), all
for the benefit of the Sri Lankan community in the UK. He noted that by holding events of
this
nature and by engaging with people across the community without narrow boundaries, APSL was
a significant
contributor towards achieving a pluralistic community.
Following on, three topics relevant to the community were made by three Solicitors
practising in the United Kingdom. APSL President,
Mr. Rohan de Alwis, who is a Solicitor started the event with his presentation on “How to
start a
business in the UK”. He explained the various ways of setting up a business; on your own
(sole
proprietor), with others as owners (Partnership) and with others as shareholders (Limited
Liability Company).
He stressed the importance of writing a business plan and also getting the right funding to
start the business, the difference between entrepreneurs and businessmen and much more.
He was followed by a detailed Presentation given by Mrs. Daksheenie Abeyewardene, also a
Solicitor on “Wills and Probates and Inheritance Tax”. In her presentation, Daksheenie
highlighted the importance of writing a will when you are in a good state of mind so that
your loved ones
will be able to fully benefit with what you have left for them without unnecessary problems
and heavy costs. She also mentioned what should be included in a will and the consequences
of
not writing a
will, and also of using the services of a Solicitor.
The final presentation was made by
Miss. Ruki
Pinidiya, a Solicitor, on “Living and working in the United Kingdom” in relation to the
current
immigration and nationality laws with an overview of the rules applicable for students,
business people and
skilled workers. Ruki clearly clarified the five tiers of immigration under the current law
and gave
a detailed analysis of these categories.
During the Question-and-Answer session it
was noted
that the majority of the questions were
related to the presentation “Wills and Probate” and how to minimise exposure to Inheritance
Tax in
the UK. The event concluded with the vote of thanks by Mr. Leslie Dep, the General Secretary
of
APSL. Whilst thanking the presenters for their very informative presentations and also the
members and
guests for attending the event, he especially thanked His Excellency Dr. Chris Nonis for
allowing APSL
to use the High Commission premises for this event and also Mr. H.M.K. Herath, Minister
Cultural at
the High Commission for making all the necessary arrangements.
The Health and Medical Assistance Fund provides crucial healthcare services, including emergency medical care, surgeries, and long-term treatment for the underserved communities.
