RA Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Vahram Dumanyan received today the newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Armenia Meegahalande Durage Lamawansa. The meeting was also attended by ESCS Deputy Minister Arthur Martirosyan.

Minister Vahram Dumanyan congratulated Ambassador Lamawansa upon the assumption of the responsible position expressing confidence that he will contribute to the further strengthening and deepening of the relations between Armenia and Sri Lanka. The ESCS Minister touched upon the possibilities of expanding the scope of collaboration between the sides, especially emphasizing the inter-university cooperation: “We already have experience of cooperation, especially in the fields of medicine and economics. It is a very important fact that the Medical Council of Sri Lanka recognizes the diploma of the Yerevan State Medical University named after M. Heratsi․ In addition, there is a cooperation between the State University of Economics of Armenia and the South-Eastern University of Sri Lanka․ The existing cooperation should be expanded and developed by implementing joint programs in the fields of education, science, culture and sport․”

Ambassador Meegahalande Durage Lamawansa thanked for the reception and expressed his willingness to promote the development of cooperation. Highlighting the implementation of mutually beneficial programs, the Ambassador noted that cooperation in the field of education may include summer schools for students and researchers; exchange programs. Meegahalande Durage Lamawansa referred to the prospects of cooperation in the fields of culture and sport, noting that Armenia has a centuries-old and rich culture, thus it will be interesting to cooperate in this field as well. The Ambassador also underlined that they are interested in the exceptional Armenian experience of teaching chess in schools.

ESCS Minister Vahram Dumanyan responded positively to the proposals, expressing hope that the familiarization meeting will soon turn into practical programs.