The Sectoral Oversight Committee on International Relations chaired by the Member of Parliament Hon. Namal Rajapakse met on 09.02.2024 under the chairmanship of the Members of Parliament Hon. Akila Ellawala and Hon. Niroshan Perera.
During the committee meeting, the role of the Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute and the Lakshman Kadiragamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies and their future plans were discussed at length with the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The officials informed the committee that Laxman Kadiragamer Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKIIRSS) was established to engage in independent research on Sri Lanka’s international relations and strategic interests and the Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute (BIDTI) in 1995 to offer advanced training courses in diplomacy and international relations.
At present, the academic activities of these institutions are conducted only physically, so the committee instructed the officials to seek the possibility of conducting the academic activities online. Accordingly, the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the committee that in the future, the necessary steps will be taken to conduct the academic activities of these institutions including the training courses online.
Also, there was a discussion about the ability of these institutions to expand the knowledge related to the international relations of the Members of Parliament of Sri Lanka. Furthermore, the youth representatives who participated in the committee pointed out the need to spread the subject of International Relations and related knowledge at the rural level. The youth representatives further commented that if there is an opportunity to study this subject online, it will be more useful for the people who are interested in the subject in all the provinces of this country.
Member of Parliament Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya, a group of youth representatives of the Committee and a group of officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were also present in this committee meeting.
