On December 7, Nizhny Novgorod hosted for the first time the Forum on Peoples' Diplomacy as a Soft Power for the Development of International Cooperation. H. E. the Ambassador Prof. Janitha A. Liyanage was invited to take part in the Forum as one of the key speakers.

In her speech, Ambassador Prof. Janitha A. Liyanage emphasized that people-to-people diplomacy builds strong relationships between nations, supporting trade and economic partnerships that advance prosperity of the countries. H.E. the Ambassador underlined that the Embassy has longstanding and very friendly relations established with the Russian Association of International Cooperation and Russia-Sri Lanka Friendship society, the true examples of peoples' diplomacy. This interaction moves forward mutually beneficial projects and brings to the achievement of common goals of both countries.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation H.E. Sergey Lavrov send a video address to the participants of International Forum "People's Diplomacy as a Soft Power Tool to Promote International Cooperation". He stressed that the role of people's diplomacy and people-to-people contacts in promoting a healthier atmosphere in the world can hardly be overestimated.
Ambassador H.E. Prof. Janitha A. Liyanage also took part in one of the Panel Discussion on Political and Business diplomacy and spoke about the role of the Embassy in creating capacity to build and maintain strong relations with stakeholders, to shape a favourable business environment and exploit new opportunities.