Sri Lanka is gearing up to become an educational hub in the South Asian with the assistance of the Australian Government
Plans are afoot to implement a special project in collaboration with the State Ministry of Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research & Innovations to develop vocational and professional skillsThe amount allocated for this project is 12 million Australian dollars
Visiting .Australian Minister of Home Affairs Karen Andrews informed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa that assistance will be provided to Sri Lanka to become an educational hub in the region.
Minister Andrews pointed out that this will be enabled by establishing educational institutions in Sri Lanka which provide facilities to students from other countries who wish to pursue degrees in Australia, to study basic stages of relevant courses in Sri Lanka.
The Minister made these remarks during the meeting held at the Presidential Secretariat on Monday (20).
Andrews stated that the Australian Government intends to bring in Australian products to Sri Lanka to add value and re-export with the objective of developing Sri Lanka’s industries.
Commending Sri Lanka’s policy on green agriculture, the Minister said that Australia was also interested in sustainable agriculture.
The year 2022 marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Andrews lauded the actions taken by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to further strengthen the long-standing friendship between the two countries.
President Rajapaksa recalled the assistance provided by the Australian Government to the Covid-19 control programme in Sri Lanka by making a donation of 11.7 million Australian Dollars.
When the President was the Secretary of Defence, an agreement was reached with the then Australian Minister of Defence, Scott Morrison, to prevent human trafficking.
Expressing his pleasure over Scott Morrison’s current role as the Prime Minister of Australia, the President said that he expects a strong mechanism between the two countries to curb drug trafficking, piracy and human trafficking.
Andrews said her government would continue to support the work of maintaining the stability of the Indian Ocean and would continue to monitor the security of the region.
Australian Minister for Home Affairs Karen Andrews, who is on an official visit to Sri Lanka, called on Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris on Monday and discussed avenues for enhanced cooperation on a broad spectrum of areas.
Minister Peiris expressed satisfaction with Australia’s significant involvement in preventing people smuggling and transnational crimes in Sri Lanka as well as in the region.
During Minister Andrews’ visit, the Sri Lanka Border Risk Assessment Centre (BRAC) at the Department of Immigration and Emigration was ceremonially inaugurated with her Sri Lankan counterpart, Minister Chamal Rajapaksa at the Department of Immigration and Emigration.
Earlier in the day, both Ministers also signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of Return and Readmission of Persons between Sri Lanka and Australia at the State Ministry of Home Affairs.
Referring to Australia’s experience in vocational education, Foreign Minister Peiris sought Australia’s technical assistance to strengthen Sri Lanka’s vocational education sector.
He also expressed keen interest in the proposed establishment of a Transshipment Hub in Sri Lanka to route Australian products through Sri Lanka to the other markets which would immensely benefit the Sri Lanka economy.
