Go Unlimited with Magzter GOLD
Get unlimited access to 10,000+ magazines, newspapers and Premium stories for just
Try GOLD - Free
Poland—Sri Lanka Relations: Beyond Tea and Tourism?
Sunday Island
|September 21, 2025
While preparing for my next trip to Sri Lanka, I keep reflecting on relations between Poland and the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean.”
At first, Sri Lanka and my home country—a democratic nation of 38 million people in Central Europe—may seem very distant from one another. Yet, this year has brought a substantial development in their bilateral relations.
In May 2025, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski visited Sri Lanka. He participated in high-level meetings with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, and Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath. Notably, he was representing not only Warsaw but also the entire European Union, as Poland held the EU presidency.
Historical Linkages
Shared historical connections between Sri Lanka and Poland stretch back more than a century. One of them is particularly close to my heart: the visit of Adam Asnyk, a renowned poet born in my hometown of Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland. He travelled to Sri Lanka in 1894.
Even more notable was the 1914 journey of Bronislaw Malinowski, the world-famous anthropologist and founder of the functionalist school. During his stay on the way to the western Pacific, he visited Anuradhapura, Dambulla, Kandy, Sigiriya, and even the ancient village of Nalanda in Matale.
This story is from the September 21, 2025 edition of Sunday Island.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM Sunday Island
Sunday Island
Pakistan at the mercy of Munir’s power
While Pakistan and Bangladesh wrestle with their fragile relationship under the interim government led by Yunus, the International Tribunal is set to deliver its verdict on Monday, 17 November, formally exposing the alleged “sins” of Sheikh Hasina’s rule.
5 mins
November 16, 2025
Sunday Island
Addressing conservation challenges through female entrepreneurship: A paradigm shift
WNPS PLANT, Otter Fonds from Netherlands and the Lanka Environmental Fund joined hands to empower Female Entrepreneurs to commence their own forest plant nurseries through a powerful groundbreaking initiative recently.
5 mins
November 16, 2025
Sunday Island
Pakistan grants lifetime immunity to President Asif Zardari, Army Chief Asim Munir
Opposition: \"Final nail in the coffin of a functioning democracy\"
2 mins
November 16, 2025
Sunday Island
Sumo: One hundred years of sumo
The millenia-old wrestling sport's rituals have long shaped ideas about Japan. But as its modern governing institute celebrates a century of existence, can Japan’s national sport change enough to be more globally accepted?
5 mins
November 16, 2025
Sunday Island
The Seelawathi Syndrome
With a title reminiscent of Simone de Beauvoir’s Brigitte Bardot and the Lolita Syndrome this most recent collection of short stories by Chandrarathna Bandara contains seven narratives which contain a sense of impending doom and loss, balanced with an ounce of hope. Simone de Beauvoir’s work was a scathing critique of the femininity and the essence of womanhood which was thought to be promoted at a time in France and indeed the western world when Brigitte Bardot was the ideal women were thought to aspire to. As a feminist de Beauvoir skillfully appropriated the title of Nabakov’s novel Lolita to drive home the point of her damning critique. Though the title is reminiscent of this wellknown feminist work, it is only a coincidence and Bandara’s collection deals with the broader notions of aging, youth, mortality, sexuality, societal norms, as relevant to class and gender as well as broader notions of ethics of war and the brutal truth behind our notions of nationalism. In conversation with him he reveals the reason behind the choice of title.
4 mins
November 16, 2025
Sunday Island
The origin of modern fashion industry
The story of the modern fashion industry begins in the ateliers and salons of Europe, where creativity, craftsmanship, and commerce converged to shape an enterprise that now moves billions of dollars and influences how people across continents dress, think, and express themselves.
6 mins
November 16, 2025
Sunday Island
Wired but Thirsty
(SNS) India’s digital infrastructure is expanding at a pace unmatched in its history. The surge in data genera- tion, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing has created a powerful demand for data centres, the vast facil- ities that host the servers powering everything from banking to stream- ing. With billions of dollars flowing in from global tech companies and domestic investors, the country is poised to become one of the world’s largest data centre hubs within this decade. Yet, this success story con- ceals a mounting environmental dilemma that demands urgent nation- al attention.
2 mins
November 16, 2025
Sunday Island
Democrats sweep elections in New York, New Jersey, Virginia and California
The deep blue state of New York, elected as the mayor of its greatest city, New York City, the financial capital of the world, its Democratic candidate. No surprise there. The anomaly was that the choice was 34-year-old, Ugandan-born, first-generation immigrant, Zohran Mamdani, who was espousing the progressive movement started by President Franklin. D. Roosevelt in 1945.
5 mins
November 16, 2025
Sunday Island
Singer launches ESG Roadmap 2030 – ‘Progress Through Purpose’
Singer (Sri Lanka) PLC, a member of the Hayleys Group, has unveiled its comprehensive Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Roadmap 2030, themed “Progress Through Purpose.”
1 mins
November 16, 2025
Sunday Island
The lead-up to Mahinda Rajapaksa’s 2015 electoral defeat
Showcasing Hambantota with borrowed dollars, creating a Muslim ‘enemy’
8 mins
November 16, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size