Sri Lanka and India sign several agreements and MoUs

Wednesday, 18 February 2015 00:06 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

President of Sri Lanka addresses the media

Four agreement in the areas of economy, power, fisheries and cultural ties were signed

Bilateral discussions between the Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took place at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, Feb. 16, 2015. India and Sri Lanka have singed many agreements and Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) on Monday in India on the sidelines of President Maithripala Sirisena's first-ever State visit. An agreement between Sri Lanka and India on Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy was signed by Patali Champika Ranawaka, Minister of Power and Energy on behalf of Sri Lanka and Shri Ratan Kumar Sinha, Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy for India. The Agreement will facilitate cooperation in the transfer and exchange of knowledge and expertise, sharing of resources, capacity building and training of personnel in peaceful uses of nuclear energy including use of radioisotopes, nuclear safety, radiation safety, nuclear security, radioactive waste management and nuclear and radiological disaster mitigation and environmental protection. Sri Lankan High Commissioner in New Delhi Sudharshan Seneviratne and Indian Ministry of Culture Secretary Shri Ravindra Singh inked an agreement for a Program of Cultural Cooperation between Sri Lanka and India for the years 2015-18. The Program of Cultural Cooperation for 2015-18 seeks to enhance the level of cooperation in a wide variety of fields such as performing arts, visual arts, libraries, museums, archives and cultural documentation, archaeology, handicrafts, publications and professional exchanges. Meanwhile a MoU on the Establishment of Nalanda University enabling Sri Lanka to participate in the Nalanda University Project was inked by Foreign Affairs Secretary Chitranganee Wagiswara on behalf of Sri Lanka and Foreign Secretary Dr. S. Jaishankar on behalf of India. Work-Plan 2014-2015 under the MoU on Cooperation in the field of agriculture between India and Sri Lanka was inked on behalf of Sri Lanka and India by High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in New Delhi Sudharshan Seneviratne and Department of Agriculture and Cooperation Secretary Shri Ashish Bahuguna, respectively. The Work Plan will facilitate bilateral cooperation in agro processing, agricultural extension, horticulture, agricultural machinery, training in farm mechanisation, livestock diseases, etc., between relevant institutes and organisations from both countries.