A month after Mrs Bandaranaike met and held discussions with Mexican President Luis Echeverría Álvarez in Mexico City he undertook a one day visit to Sri Lanka. The visit provided an opportunity for issues concerning Non Alignmentas well as other pressing international and bilateral matters to be taken up for discussion.

As the world’s first woman Prime Minister, the UN Conference on Women, being held fifteen years after her first election, saw Mrs Bandaranaike delivering the keynote address in Mexico. Articulating the role of women and emphasizing their contribution at the Conference, Mrs Bandaranaike said “We are not here only to demolish discrimination but to envision

The 3rd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in Jamaica and hosted by Prime Minister Michael Manley, came as the world focused its attention on the Vietnam War. Mrs Bandaranaike joined Indira Gandhi of India, Harold Macmillan of Britain, Lee Kwan Yew of Singapore and Mujibur Rahman of Bangladesh, among others, at this session.

Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, with whom Mrs Bandaranaike had interacted at several international for a, undertook a visit to Sri Lanka, at a time when preparations were being made for the Non Aligned Movement summit. The inclusion of African issues and opinion was taken up during his meetings with Mrs Bandaranaike.

Fulfilling the need for an institution of international repute in the field of International Relations, the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies which was inaugurated in December 1974 by Mrs Bandaranaike, engages in the dissemination of knowledge in the spheres of International Relations, International Law and Diplomacy.

Mrs Bandaranaike undertook a visit to the Soviet Union and Georgia in November 1974, which saw her travelling to Tashkent and Moscow and finally on to Tbilisi. Meeting with Premier Kosygin and Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, Mrs Bandaranaike’s visit strengthened relations with the Soviet Union, which had dispatched a special plane for the Prime Minister

The University of Jaffna was declared opened by Mrs Bandaranaike at 2.25pm on 06th October 1974 at the Parameshwara College which had been founded by Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan in 1921. The new University provided the Northern Province with a seat of learning that has grown in strength and size over the years.

At the invitation of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Mrs Bandaranaike undertook a State Visit to Pakistan in September 1974. During the visit, she addressed a joint session of the Senate and National Assembly of Pakistan, which was the first by any Sri Lankan leader and considered a rare honour which has been bestowed on

The island of Kachchativu in the Palk Strait, having been a subject of controversy, was finally demarcated to lie on Sri Lanka’s side of the maritime boundary after intense negotiations on the part of Mrs Bandaranaike with her Indian counterpart Indira Gandhi. The agreement reached between the two Prime Ministers resolved a long standing issue

Delivering the keynote address at the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East, in Colombo, Mrs Bandaranaike proposed the creation of a World Fertilizer Fund. The idea received support resulting in the United Nations Economic and Social Commission adopting a resolution sponsored by Sri Lanka and New Zealand shortly thereafter and the

The second leg of the East Asian tour took Mrs Bandaranaike and her delegation to Bangkok. Having held extensive discussions with Prime Minister Kukrit Pramojand Foreign Minister Chatichai Choonhavan, Mrs Bandaranaike met with King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit and other members of the Royal Family, during her visit, which also took her to Chiangmai.

Mrs Bandaranaike was invited along with Yugoslav President Josep Tito to be Chief Guests at India’s Republic Day ceremony in 1974. A historic occasion on which world leaders are invited to grace the Republic Day events with the President and Prime Minister of India, Mrs Bandaranaike was bestowed this rare honour during the premiership of

75 member states convened in the Algerian capital of Algiers for the 4th NAM Summit at which Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda handing over the reins of the Movement to President Houari Boumediène. Mrs Bandaranaike, leading the Sri Lankan delegation was instrumental in supporting efforts of the Movement to tread a new path in bringing economic

Mrs Bandaranaike undertook a visit to the Vatican in September 1973, during which she had a private audience with Pope Paul VI at Castel Gandolfo. Mrs Bandaranaike had met Pope Paul VI during his short visit to Colombo at the beginning of her second term.

The Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall, which was gifted by the Chinese Government, was inaugurated at a ceremony which included Mrs Bandaranaike, President William Gopallawa, Vice Chairman of the State Council of China Marshal Hsu Hiang-Chien, the Chinese Ambassador as well as two workers representing the workers of Sri Lanka and China. At 3.55pm on

Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, regarded as a close friend of Mrs Bandaranaike, undertook a visit to Sri Lanka in April 1973. During her visit she addressed Parliament. The two Prime Ministers deliberated upon several issues, chief among which were the resolution of citizenship of the remaining 150, 000 people of Indian origin in Sri

The Foreign Ministers of the Non Aligned Movement held their first meeting in Georgetown, Guyana in August 1972. This was an important for Sri Lanka as Mrs Bandaranaike had proposed the holding of the next Summit in Colombo, with Algeria also asking for the Summit to be convened in Algiers. It was at the Georgetown