'Lanka-Malaysia intertwined with common affinities'

Sri Lanka and Malaysia are intertwined by common affinities, interest and similarities, said Higher Education Minister Prof. Wiswa Warnapala.

The Minister made these observations when he met Malaysian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Rosll Ismail. This long friendship between the two countries has grown in the past few years.

"We share common views on varied international issues which reflect upon the consistency resilience and vibrancy of our bilateral co-operation", he said.

The Minister said a lot of Sri Lankan students are studying in Malaysia. The students who have graduated from Malaysian Universities have proved their talents in varied fields and have reached international standards.

The Minister suggested that a MoU should be arranged so that the two countries can share the experience acquired in the education field and also can open opportunities for university students of both countries to feed back knowledge thus acquired.

The Minister requested the High Commissioner that the Malaysia should consider offering more scholarships to Sri Lankan University students, specially in the medicine, agriculture, information technology and economics fields.

High Commissioner Rosll Ismail said he would do his best to convince his Government to implement the proposals of the Higher Education Minister. He recalled that Malaysia has donated Rs. 26 million to the President's Disaster Fund in 2005.

The two countries have co-operated with each other on various issues and this positive trend should be safeguarded as the two countries believe that international organisations such as the UNO should be re-orientated to meet the aspirations of the Asians, Africans and Latin Americans.