New Delhi Hosts India-Sri Lanka Foundation Board Meet; Education, Culture Projects Get Nod

New Delhi: The 41st Meeting of the Board of Directors of the India-Sri Lanka Foundation (ISLF) held in New Delhi on Thursday.

The Board reviewed ongoing projects and considered new proposals. Of over 500 proposals received by the Colombo Secretariat, 137 were shortlisted after vetting and 20 were placed before the Board. Of these, 13 projects amounting to approximately LKR 21 million were approved, covering education, culture, agriculture, and science and technology.

The Board noted a substantial rise in public interest in the Foundation’s work. The New Delhi Secretariat alone received 149 proposals from Indian nationals, even though no formal Call for Proposals was issued due to financial constraints.

The meeting was co-chaired by High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India Mahishini Colonne and High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha. Board Members Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam, Ambassador Mohan Kumar and Ashok Malik attended the meeting.

The Board said this unprecedented interest reflects the continuing public enthusiasm to strengthen the close and enduring ties between India and Sri Lanka and to create greater opportunities for people-to-people engagement.

Established on 28 December 1998 through an MoU signed by then Foreign Ministers Jaswant Singh and Lakshman Kadirgamar, the ISLF aims to foster bilateral relations through enhanced economic, scientific, educational, technical and cultural cooperation.

Over 28 years, the Foundation has supported exchanges involving students, academics, researchers, professionals, artists and cultural practitioners.

Noting the growing breadth and depth of India-Sri Lanka relations, the Board observed that the Foundation’s role in strengthening people-to-people ties has become even more important. It stressed the need to enhance the Foundation’s Corpus Fund to support more initiatives, especially for Sri Lankan institutions and individuals.

The India-Sri Lanka Foundation is jointly administered by Secretariats in New Delhi and Colombo and is governed by a six-member Board, comprising the two High Commissioners as ex-officio Co-Chairpersons and four members nominated by the two governments.

The 41st meeting was held at Zetu, the first Sri Lankan food-inspired restaurant in New Delhi.