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Vietnam – Sri Lanka Presidents meet
Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong expressed Vietnam’s willingness to serve as a bridge for enhancing relations between Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka.
He emphasized that Vietnam is committed to taking the initiative in strengthening economic, social and cultural ties between Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe engaged in bilateral talks with President Vo Van Thuong during the “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) international forum in Beijing today (18).
During the meeting, President Vo Van Thuong underlined this commitment in strengthening ties between the two countries. The discussions between the leaders covered various critical issues impacting both nations.
To bolster the relationship between Sri Lanka and Vietnam, it was agreed to formulate a comprehensive action plan, with the foreign ministers of both countries taking the lead.
Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, the Governor of the Central Bank, provided insights into Sri Lanka’s current economic situation and future prospects. The Vietnamese President also shared Vietnam’s experiences in rebuilding its own economy and the challenges encountered during the process.
The leaders engaged in extensive discussions on establishing economic and trade links between the two nations, as well as Sri Lanka’s agricultural modernization program. This dialogue was underscored as a fresh approach to charting a path forward together.
The event was attended by Foreign Minister Mr Ali Sabry, the President’s Senior Adviser on National Security and President’s Chief of Staff Mr Sagala Ratnayaka and the Sri Lankan delegation.
(President’s Media Division)
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First capacity-building program under NCGG – SLIDA MoU concludes successfully
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the National Centre for Good Governance of India (NCGG) and Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA) was signed during the State Visit of President of Sri Lanka, H.E. Anura Kumara Disanayaka to India in December 2024 for training and capacity building of 1500 Sri Lankan civil service officers over a period of five years.
The first program under the MoU was successfully held at NCGG from 21 April to 02 May 2025, and was attended by 41 officers. Based on the request of the Government of Sri Lanka, the theme of the program was ‘digitization in governance’. The program featured a series of sessions focused on key areas such as digital service delivery, digital public infrastructure, financial inclusion through digital payments, and innovations in public grievance redressal systems. Senior officials and domain experts delivered presentations on flagship Indian initiatives in the digital domain, including Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, e-Office, GeM, Aadhaar, PM Gati Shakti, among others.
At an interaction session with participants in the inaugural program organized on 08 May 2025 at SLIDA, the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, H.E. Santosh Jha underscored that capacity building is an important pillar of the development cooperation between the two countries, with Sri Lanka being among the largest recipients of scholarships and capacity building initiatives offered by India. He highlighted that, demonstrating India’s continued commitment to enhancing capacity-building opportunities for Sri Lankans, Prime Minister of India had announced additional training avenues to 700 Sri Lankan citizens annually during his recent State visit. In that context, the High Commissioner said that the participants in the first NCGG-SLIDA programme also represented the first set of Sri Lankan nationals to receive training as part of the significantly enhanced capacity-building endeavour of India that will now benefit 1000 Sri Lankans annually.
The interaction session was also attended by Secretary, Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, Mr S. Aloka Bandara; Director General of SLIDA, Mr A.V. Janadara; senior officials and faculty members of SLIDA; among others.
In view of the highly positive feedback from the participants in the inaugural NCGG-SLIDA program, based on request from SLIDA, a second program on the same theme under the MoU is now being planned for another batch of around 40 officers for early June 2025.
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First capacity-building program under NCGG – SLIDA MoU concludes successfully
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