Vacancies at LKI filled, expanded Board of Management meets

The expanded Board of Management of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKI) met recently, presided over by Foreign Minister M. U. M. Ali Sabry, in his capacity as the ex officio chairman of LKI.

The meeting took place in the wake of Foreign Minister naming four new members to the LKI Board of Management to fill the vacancies. They were Attorney-at-Law Ruwantha Cooray, banker and Attorney-at-Law Mrs. Kimarli Fernando, Economist and Management Consultant Ahmed Talal Rafi, and Strategic Studies Expert Dr. Harinda Vidanage.

They join the current members of the board; Mrs. Suganthie Kadirgamar – Attorney-at-Law, Mr. Rajan Asirwatham – Chartered Accountant, Mr. Malinda Seneviratne – Journalist, and Mr. Thusantha Wijemanna – Attorney-at-Law.

The Foreign Minister welcomed the newly appointed members to the Board of Management. The board discussed the ‘LKI Research Programme’, the recently operationalized LKI Flagship Projects, including the ‘LKI Foreign Policy Forum’, the ‘Experts Network’ being developed through consultations held/planned with scholars and practitioners relevant to aspects of foreign policy, as well as the activities being conducted by the LKI in support of the forthcoming assumption of the Chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) by Sri Lanka, and the upcoming Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit to be held in Thailand – to which LKI is the focal point for the ‘BIMSTEC Network of Policy Think Tanks’.

Tharaka Balasuriya, MP, State Minister of Foreign Affairs and U.L.M. Jauhar, Acting Secretary/Foreign Affairs were present at the meeting.

Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha, Executive Director, Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute, Ambassador Pamela J. Deen, Director-General, Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute, Mr. O.L.M. Ameer Ajwad, Director General, Performance Review and Implementation, Ms. E. A. S. Wijayanthi Edirisinghe, Director General (Actg.), Human Resources Development, Research and Training, and Ms. Ashwini Hapangama, Secretary covering the Board Meeting, were associated with the meeting.