KUWAIT: In about two month’s time the first batch of Sri Lankan nurses will arrive in Kuwait, disclosed Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Kuwait Sarath Dissanayake. He spoke during a press conference to a group of local media where he formally thanked the government and people of Kuwait for the successful one-week staging of Sri Lankan Cultural Week.

“[The nurses] were arranged through government to government channels,” he added. “This will be the first time we bring our nurses to Kuwait.”

It was the first time ever for Sri Lanka to showcase their Sri Lankan Cultural Week here after signing a cultural cooperation agreement in 2007. “This is just the beginning of much bigger celebrations to come. Next year in February we plan to offer another cultural activity, maybe another one week to commemorate our 40 years of diplomatic ties,” he said.

According to Dissanayake, through cultural activities like Sri Lankan Cultural Week they are bringing people together. “Without words, people understand music and dance. We are bringing people together,” he added. The week of celebrations were held at several locations throughout Kuwait from April 26 to May 2.

It was held two days before a controversial, Sri Lankan New Year’s Day party in Jahra which was interrupted by a group of angry Kuwaitis who claimed it violated Islamic rules. The Sri Lankan embassy denied all allegations against the organizer and the Sri Lankan community in Kuwait. “Again, I’d like to categorically deny all the allegations against our people during the New Year event,” he said. “There were no Islamic rules broken during the party.”

The Sri Lankan Cultural Week was held under the patronage ofKuwait’s National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters. The Cultural Week was officially inaugurated on April 26 at the Kaifan Auditorium by Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah, the Minister of Information and Oil and the Secretary General of the Council, Sheikh Bader Al-Rifai.

The Sri Lanka Rangana Cultural Extravaganza was put on stage by a 28-member cultural troupe featuring a combination of traditional dances and fusion acts, contemporary and modern forms of performances while an orchestra entertained the audience with live music, modern and classical songs. The culture week also showcased an exhibition of handicrafts, textiles, garments, masks, decorative items and ornaments.

Chandana Wickramasinghe, director of the Dancers Guild and Sonali Dharmawardana, a designer, thanked local media for their extensive coverage. They also thanked Sri Lankan nationals and those who attended the show for their numerous congratulatory messages. – (The Kuwait Times)