New Delhi, India (CU)_ India and Sri Lanka extended their ongoing science and technology cooperation for the next three years, focusing on new fields including waste-water technologies, biotechnology, sustainable agriculture, aerospace engineering, robotics, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence, as well as industrial collaborations.
S.K. Varshney, Advisor and Head, International Cooperation, Department of Science and Technology (DST), addressed the India-Sri Lanka 5th Joint Committee on S&T Cooperation. He spoke about the long-standing relationship between India and Sri Lanka. He said, “India and Sri Lanka have a great legacy of intellectual, cultural and religious interaction and relationship of more than 2,500 years. Trade and investment and cooperation in education and other sectors have gone up in recent times, and in this line, cooperation in science and technology becomes very critical”.
Varshney, the Indian co-chair who guided the delegation, spoke about the other possible areas for collaboration. He said, “This platform will provide an opportunity for discussing various other facets which are possible for collaboration in the domain of S&T. India offers fellowships like India S&T fellowship, e-ITEC and both the countries can work through a number of multilateral platforms like BIMSTEC, which they are part of”.
Deepa Liyange, co-chair from Sri Lanka and Secretary of the country’s Ministry of Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research, and Innovations, reaffirmed the two countries’ long-standing bilateral relationship and appreciated India’s support in science and technology sectors and research fields to advance scientific knowledge in the country. Vinod K. Jacob, India’s Deputy High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, stated that this meeting will assist building on the current collaborative effort and enable them achieve higher heights as part of India’s ‘Neighborhood First’ policy, which directs the country’s collaboration with Sri Lanka.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Indian side discussed the entire STI strategy and priority fields, highlighting the fundamental mandates of DST, multi-stakeholder base of DST, India’s recent success in science and technology, and its focus on safeguarding India’s technological future through different missions. Accordingly, the Sri Lankan officials also emphasized the extent and position of science and technology in their country, as well as its uses in a variety of sectors of national importance.
According to the statement, the board mutually agreed to renew and extend the Programme of Cooperation (POC) between the two nations for the next three years and discovered new areas of cooperation for the POC, including waste-water technologies, industry and biotechnology, sustainable agriculture, aerospace engineering, robotics, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence.
