{"id":16214,"date":"2025-10-21T11:32:50","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T11:32:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/?p=16214"},"modified":"2025-10-21T11:32:52","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T11:32:52","slug":"clarification-on-claims-of-german-foreign-ministry-denying-info-on-sl-prez-anuras-official-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/clarification-on-claims-of-german-foreign-ministry-denying-info-on-sl-prez-anuras-official-visit\/","title":{"rendered":"Is President Dissanayake\u2019s visit to Germany, not an Official State Visit?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-background has-medium-font-size\"style=\"background-color:#b6babf91\"><a href=\" https:\/\/whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029Va5pj8o4IBh5WxNhlE0I \"> Subscribe to our WhatsApp Channel <\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In June 2025, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake visited Germany, and many posts about the visit were published on social media. Meanwhile, a post on social media indicated that President Dissanayake did not travel to Germany for a state visit, confirmed by the German Federal Foreign Office. We did a fact-check to confirm the credibility of this post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Social Media Posts :<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Below is the social media post that was circulated.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere is no information about Anura\u2019s visit to Germany \u2013 German Federal Foreign Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is a website in Germany that provides information. <a href=\"https:\/\/fragdenstaat.de\/\">https:\/\/fragdenstaat.de\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It facilitated the request for information from relevant government ministries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under this, I have requested the German Federal Foreign Office regarding Anura\u2019s visit to Germany on June 14, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I asked,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In accordance with Article 1 of the country&#8217;s IFG,&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1. Was the visit of Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to Germany on 14 June 2025, at the invitation of the German Federal Government (a state visit or an official visit)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2. Did President Dissanayake make all the visits and meetings during his time in Germany of an official nature, or did he also attend private meetings?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In response, I received that the Federal Foreign Office in Germany had no information on this matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, at whose expense did Anura travel to Germany?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the information provided is incorrect, I request that the Sri Lankan government inform us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The response received in German and the translation are included below.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"573\" height=\"813\" src=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-50.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16215\" srcset=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-50.png 573w, https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-50-211x300.png 211w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 573px) 100vw, 573px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/jinath\/posts\/10164200879351983?ref=embed_post\">Facebook<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.awesomescreenshot.com\/image\/56926576?key=3644a2aead93fad593d9313678166507\">Archived Link<\/a>&nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/permalink.php?story_fbid=122138440712899764&amp;id=61576992935702&amp;__cft__%5b0%5d=AZXVCuhynkcYe2Lyk4zGYlX3V4LLXqtBgYQPlr1ugEs0JJwmZwk9iHNEeW2n4U7lQs7ztPOn6BGT61plpFcZlGICtO-oDy4Qk2tTO7jhgp8cpmi-Qrw1GzXVUrPzehV8HGUVa7sjLk50hafYTBClGb3m4AhhnCHeNQIwFcVlCkPxNDHfWcf6sKNuZULNatpf7E7JUlM6i7J9W1iX3WuvnnfrDM_EfZhY_FggwpSDD-7uY_Y1DahUOkV5_e5T-wCCDxGHPd0tnUit93yLkytuHJJSuwbKA0lViFGXgnSOiOzovDj2EbhVtfbmvKJc_hH1K3yMxryiJByjvPjxcFSZpr55ZPLZF6VZkFdDfHqR5tTnX8dc1iMsI5JaEMBz4NddOKmZTMasP7fM_nXITb81cBO-Xi1nQ9smHJN_XhPegNe9Wcz6JcZMyxY8R25tskQUWc_HYc178jFL9EPe_z8FOaeQFxGtJ-aucsV717k35vR5nX9Me4SnmOkVDf8mdOAYBNTpNgfxrKYGkOWYXsaxkEtjNAby4Y4bQ7YeTOANmifsBU390CKEk7owpLZJe005OoBjnoZ27udRgrqATvkRW6PmpKNk3wPNX09J8Y6GWoQpYgbzuaU8Ru_Qsb3qN3Xb8h3jKm_-VtwH5WgsmPMc7xR4A1KeeKc_Ymw0snZFpQDNzsKU9iFi0D5Rx20qWBPI0RNT7TtuN7tplsJqzvo5EAjVMTdw0-Wv7bc4vTmBk7hYfw&amp;__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R\">FB<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/user.979742\/posts\/122151775298682934?__cft__%5b0%5d=AZVSXek5NeH_GYOX501Y-5otPbKkPMo51N3N9RT47qvLE2a1JlgfrbLGsF0U_fMo3DwIG2pNDMxJdIRd5FjIFZPK7_eIOhMPvHbmvz4hOEUJbpCLQNyu7MZ0jtENALl7E9x69g1RTKsOPOCw4--k2UdFbvyC9ZOeXvs-dAPb043Bhl-UdXtZ5Zzq1e0y9SaSac4&amp;__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R\">FB<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kelumpriyankara1986\/posts\/1373347911132173?__cft__%5b0%5d=AZU4xi1DSs2lfW7Rwm6SrKvRky18XqEK4i7BTfFncJc-1O_ZfVwCqx4KgpTSJhwPpC5TCKZBhH10h1jww2CdR5MeSusEYZoWlLw1-8DsIVbPINBrzECiFelc6bx6QzUhYg0L1H1PQSoGVhnPEhNFAhodECjk7rf0P8RmpdIyC1NyZTpVJha33DVDc7nquPGJuYU&amp;__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R\">FB<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=DCd0howxhy8\">video<\/a> was also published regarding this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is how we investigated this matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Fact Check :<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Presidential Media Division had <a href=\"https:\/\/pmd.gov.lk\/si\/%E0%B6%B4%E0%B7%94%E0%B7%80%E0%B6%AD%E0%B7%8A\/%E0%B6%A2%E0%B6%B1%E0%B6%B4%E0%B6%AD%E0%B7%92-%E0%B6%A2%E0%B6%BB%E0%B7%8A%E0%B6%B8%E0%B6%B1%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%BA%E0%B6%A7-%E0%B7%85%E0%B6%9F%E0%B7%8F-%E0%B7%80%E0%B7%99%E0%B6%BA%E0%B7%92\/\">announced<\/a> that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had left the island on an official visit to the Federal Republic of Germany on the 11th of June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The mainstream media reported that President Anura is undertaking a three-day official state visit to Germany at the invitation of the country\u2019s President, Frank- Walter Steinmeier. You can refer to those posts from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsfirst.lk\/sinhala\/2025\/06\/10\/%E0%B6%A2%E0%B6%B1%E0%B6%B4%E0%B6%AD%E0%B7%92-%E0%B6%85%E0%B6%B1%E0%B7%94%E0%B6%BB-%E0%B6%85%E0%B6%AF-%E0%B6%A2%E0%B6%BB%E0%B7%8A%E0%B6%B8%E0%B6%B1%E0%B7%92\">here<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/liveatsrilanka.lk\/%E0%B6%A2%E0%B6%B1%E0%B6%B4%E0%B6%AD%E0%B7%92-%E0%B6%85%E0%B6%B1%E0%B7%94%E0%B6%BB-%E0%B6%85%E0%B6%AF-%E0%B6%A2%E0%B6%BB%E0%B7%8A%E0%B6%B8%E0%B6%B1%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%BAta-%E0%B7%80%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%AF\/\">here<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/mawbima.lk\/2025\/06\/10\/president-leaves-to-germany-2\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The President, who arrived at the Bellevue Palace in Berlin, was greeted with a military salute by the German armed forces. Bilateral talks were held between the President and the German President, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/HawS5Y03sIU?t=20\">local media<\/a> covered the event in their newscasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Did the German media and the Foreign Office report on President Anura&#8217;s visit?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some media outlets in Germany had also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bundespraesident.de\/SharedDocs\/Berichte\/DE\/Frank-Walter-Steinmeier\/2025\/06\/250611-Besuch-StP-SriLanka.html\">reported<\/a> news regarding President Anura&#8217;s visit to the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"about:blank\">Similarly, the official &#8216;X&#8217; account of the Federal Foreign Office (Current news from the Federal Foreign Office \u2013 In English) posted a photo caption stating that President Anura was received in Berlin.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-twitter\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"de\" dir=\"ltr\">Willkommen in Berlin, S.E. der Pr\u00e4sident von Sri Lanka <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/anuradisanayake?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@anuradisanayake<\/a>. \ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\uddf0 ist bedeutender Partner im Indopazifik. Wir sch\u00e4tzen \ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\uddf0 Bem\u00fchen um Demokratie, Rechtsstaat &amp; Menschenrechte \u2013 und begleiten auf diesem Weg. Gemeinsam f\u00fcr eine st\u00e4rkere regelbasierte Ordnung.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AussenMinDE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@AussenMinDE<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FNnuJqpi2r\">pic.twitter.com\/FNnuJqpi2r<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Ausw\u00e4rtiges Amt (@AuswaertigesAmt) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AuswaertigesAmt\/status\/1932837141622444438?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 11, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If this visit was not an official visit, the President of this country would not have been welcomed with an official reception ceremony with the German tri-forces. During this visit, bilateral discussions were held between the two countries, and diplomats met, as evident in the photos and videos. Video footage is as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_tjXdPKhoJ8\">follows<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite this, is it possible to state that the German Federal Foreign Office has stated it does not have information on this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>German Federal Foreign Office<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To obtain clarification on this matter, we sent an email to the Federal Government Press and Information Office (Bundespresseamt) and the Federal Foreign Office (Ausw\u00e4rtiges Amt), which handles all German diplomatic and official travel, requesting further information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Federal Foreign Office sent us a reply email on October 14, confirming the information and stating that they deeply regret the confusion caused by the above social media post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The following information is provided by the Asia-Pacific Information Officer at the Ausw\u00e4rtiges Amt, the German Federal Foreign Office, or the official German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in an explanation of this matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ausw\u00e4rtiges Amt) and the Federal Agency for Foreign Affairs (Bundesamt f\u00fcr Ausw\u00e4rtiges Angelegenheiten or BfAA) are two separate government agencies (with offices in various cities).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Somehow, the question posed by the relevant social media user was mistakenly directed to the BfAA, which, however, is not an institution involved in foreign policy matters such as the visits of the Sri Lankan head of state.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He also stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs\/Federal Foreign Office did not receive any inquiries regarding the visit of Sri Lankan President Dissanayake through frag-den-staat (the institution to which the social media user directed his address).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The email further stated that the German Foreign Ministry considers President Anura&#8217;s visit to Berlin from June 11 to 14, 2025, as a very valuable and important milestone in developing bilateral relations between the two countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can refer to that email below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"906\" height=\"593\" src=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-49.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16216\" srcset=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-49.png 906w, https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-49-300x196.png 300w, https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-49-768x503.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 906px) 100vw, 906px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Reasons for the confusion:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What has happened here is that the social media user has directed their question about President Anura&#8217;s foreign trip to Germany to <a href=\"https:\/\/fragdenstaat.de\/\">FragDenStaat<\/a>, rather than to an official German government agency or ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This institution is a civil society platform operated by the Open Knowledge Foundation in Germany; a non-governmental organization (NGO) that helps citizens exercise their right to information from German authorities. The platform enables users to submit Freedom of Information Act requests to German and EU public authorities, but it is not a government institution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Accordingly, with the reply to the relevant email provided in the social media post, it appears that the relevant institution has forwarded the question referred by the Sri Lankan social media user to the Bundesamt f\u00fcr Ausw\u00e4rtige Angelegenheiten\ufeff (BfAA). However, this is not the German Foreign Ministry\/Federal Foreign Office. This is the institution operating under the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.auswaertiges-amt.de\/en\/about-us\/ministry-229734\">German Ausw\u00e4rtiges Amt\ufeff (Federal Foreign Office)<\/a>, specifically providing services to the administrative affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The functions of this institution include administrative tasks, such as managing funds for humanitarian aid projects, processing certain visas, and overseeing the properties of federal foreign offices in other countries. However, diplomatic transactions between governments are handled directly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Conclusion&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Accordingly, social media users have been misled by the above mentioned post published on social media, stating that it was a response from the German government&#8217;s Federal Foreign Office (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake did not make an official visit to Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The German Foreign Ministry, Ausw\u00e4rtiges Amt (Federal Foreign Office), explained to us in an email that the German Foreign Ministry considers President Anura&#8217;s visit to be a very valuable and vital sign for the development of bilateral relations between the two countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Join us to learn more about our investigative fact findings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/factcrescendosl\/\">Facebook<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/factcrescendosl\">Twitter<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/factcrescendo_sl\/\">Instagram<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMODMpgswyNe-Aw\">Google News<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@factcrescendosl\">TikTok<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@factcrescendosl\/featured\">Youtube<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<!DOCTYPE html>\n\t\t\t\t\t<html>\n\t\t\t\t\t<head>\n\t\t\t\t\t<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width, initial-scale=1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<style>\n\t\t\t\t\t.container {\n\t\t\t\t\t  border: 2px solid #000;\n\t\t\t\t\t  background-color: #eee;\n\t\t\t\t\t  border-radius: 5px;\n\t\t\t\t\t  padding: 16px;\n\t\t\t\t\t  margin: 16px 0\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\n\t\t\t\t\t.container::after {\n\t\t\t\t\t  content: \"\";\n\t\t\t\t\t  clear: both;\n\t\t\t\t\t  display: table;\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\n\t\t\t\t\t.container img {\n\t\t\t\t\t  float: left;\n\t\t\t\t\t  margin-right: 20px;\n\t\t\t\t\t  border-radius: 50%;\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\n\t\t\t\t\t.container span {\n\t\t\t\t\t  font-size: 20px;\n\t\t\t\t\t  margin-right: 15px;\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\n\t\t\t\t\t@media (max-width: 500px) {\n\t\t\t\t\t  .container {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t  text-align: center;\n\t\t\t\t\t  }\n\t\t\t\t\t  .container img {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t  margin: auto;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t  float: none;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t  display: block;\n\t\t\t\t\t  }\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/head>\n\t\t\t\t\t<body>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Misleading.png\n\n\" alt=\"Avatar\" style=\"width:120px\">\n\t\t\t\t\t  <p><span>Title:<\/span>Is President Dissanayake\u2019s visit to Germany, not an Official State Visit?\n<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t  <strong>Fact Check By:&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:info@factcrescendo.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fact Crescendo Team\n<\/a>&nbsp;<\/strong>\n\t\t\t\t\t  <p><strong>Result:<\/strong> Misleading<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/body>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/html>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/api.whatsapp.com\/send?phone=94771514696&#038;text=Please%20send%20your%20query:%20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2481\" src=\"http:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Whats-app-sri-lanka-new.png\" alt=\"\"><\/a><\/figure>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Subscribe to our WhatsApp Channel In June 2025, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake visited Germany, and many posts about the visit were published on social media. Meanwhile, a post on social media indicated that President Dissanayake did not travel to Germany for a state visit, confirmed by the German Federal Foreign Office. We did a fact-check [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":16218,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,8],"tags":[2672,4393,4394,805,4391,4396,22,4392],"class_list":["post-16214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political","category-social","tag-anura-kumara-dissanayake","tag-federal-office","tag-german-president","tag-germany","tag-ministry-of-foreign-affairs","tag-official-visit-to-germany","tag-sri-lanka","tag-sri-lankan-president"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Is President Dissanayake\u2019s visit to Germany, not an Official State Visit? - Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka English | The leading fact-checking website<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/clarification-on-claims-of-german-foreign-ministry-denying-info-on-sl-prez-anuras-official-visit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is President Dissanayake\u2019s visit to Germany, not an Official State Visit? - Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka English | The leading fact-checking website\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Subscribe to our WhatsApp Channel In June 2025, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake visited Germany, and many posts about the visit were published on social media. Meanwhile, a post on social media indicated that President Dissanayake did not travel to Germany for a state visit, confirmed by the German Federal Foreign Office. 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