Sri Lanka, July 6 -- Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister, Penny Wong, has announced the appointment of Matthew Duckworth as the country's next High Commissioner to Sri Lanka.

Minister Wong described Sri Lanka as a key partner for Australia in the Northeast Indian Ocean, highlighting strong community links, a longstanding development partnership, growing trade and investment ties, and a shared commitment to a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Indian Ocean Region.

Australia and Sri Lanka collaborate closely on regional and global challenges, including transnational crime, maritime security and people smuggling.

Minister Wong also noted the strong people-to-people connections, with Australia's Sri Lankan community of over 160,000 making ...