State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardena has been appointed the Acting Minister of Defence until President Maithripala Sirisena's return from China, informed government sources said.

President Sirisena came under fire last month for not appointing an Acting Defence Minister when he visited India and Singapore on a personal tour. While President Sirisena was overseas, eight explosions took place in several parts of the country claiming over 260 lives.

This time, however, President Sirisena has appointed an Acting Minister of Defence before leaving the country with a 27-member delegation to attend the conference on Asian Civilizations Dialogue.

On the 15th of May, under the auspices of President Xi Jinping, the Conference on Asian Civilizations Dialogue (CDAC) will be held in Beijing, China. The conference will host the opening ceremony and six parallel sub-forums around the theme of Asian civilization exchanges and mutual understanding. The Asian Cultural Carnival, Asian Civilization Week, Asian Food Festival and other activities are planned to be organized alongside this conference.

Around 1500 experts from around the world, including heads of state and high-level governmental representatives, are invited to attend the conference which seeks to promote intercultural dialogue in view of building an “Asian Community of Shared Future”.