Shanghai Institute for International Studies and Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute renew MoU

The Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKIIRSS) extended the MoU it initiated with the Shanghai Institute for International Studies (SIIS) in 2009 on 7 May 2013 during the visit of a delegation from the Foreign Affairs Office of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government as well as the Shanghai Institute for International Studies.

On behalf of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute, Executive Director Asanga Abeyagoonasekera signed the MoU.

Founded in 1960 by Zhou Enlai, the first premier of the People’s Republic of China, SIIS is one of the leading think tanks in the world. In 2007, a US based think tank, the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), listed SIIS in the ‘Top 10 Think Tanks in the world (non-US)’.

The visit of the delegation from Shanghai took place at the backdrop of the 10th anniversary of signing the Sister City agreement between Colombo and Shanghai in 2003. The delegation also discussed the launching of the ‘Window of Shanghai,’ a book donation by the Shanghai Library in a later part of 2013.

The ‘Window of Shanghai’ is an initiation by the Shanghai Library which aims to introduce Chinese history and culture to overseas readers, promote Chinese civilizations and publicise new progress by means of donating books to foreign libraries and related institutions.

To this point, Shanghai Library has partnered with about 89 institutions across the six continents delivering about 40, 000 books.