Upon the completion of exchange of formal notes between the Ministry of External Affairs of the Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Rwanda through their respective missions in New Delhi, the two governments have decided to establish diplomatic relations between the two countries with effect from 20th April 2011, the Ministry said in a statement Monday.

The Ministry said the High Commissioner of Rwanda based in New Delhi, India would be concurrently accredited to Sri Lanka and the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka based in Nairobi, Kenya would be concurrently accredited to Rwanda.

"The establishment of diplomatic ties between Sri Lanka and Rwanda would enhance the existing friendly relations and cooperation in the political, socio-economic and cultural fields for the mutual benefit of the two peoples," the statement said.

With the relations with Rwanda, Sri Lanka currently enjoys diplomatic relations with 33 of the 54 African nations, all of which are members of the 118-member Non-Aligned movement (NAM).