Rise in Chinese schols for Lankan students

Chinese Ambassador hosts reception for Sri Lankan students:

COLOMBO: The number of scholarships granted by the Chinese government to Sri Lanka has increased, Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Ye Dabo said.

He was speaking at a reception for Sri Lankan students who have returned from China or will go to China to pursue higher education at the Chinese Embassy on Thursday.

Education Minister Prof. Wiswa Warnapala and Nihal Rodrigo, Advisor to President and former Sri Lankan Ambassador to China were also present at the reception hosted by the Ambassador.

Cooperation in education and human resource development between China and Sri Lanka has proved sound and fruitful. Chinese scholarships to Sri Lanka launched in 1974 has expanded steadily with 100 Sri Lankan students studying in China every year, Dabo said. The Confucius College in Kelaniya University was opened in May 2007, he said.

Prof. Wiswa Warnapala said Sri Lankan students who graduated from universities and colleges in China have been playing important roles in the country's development.

Exchanges and cooperation in education have further strengthened the traditional friendship between Sri Lanka and China, he said.