Australia supports SL achieve development goals – HC

Australia has been a long term partner in supporting Sri Lankans to help achieve national development goals, Australian High Commissioner Robyn Mudie said.

Speaking at a reception in Colombo to congratulate 30 Sri Lankans offered Australia Awards to study at Australian universities in 2013, she said the 30 Australia Awards are valued at Australian $ 4 million, representing a significant component of the Australian aid programme to Sri Lanka.

“The Australian government invests in education as a force for political and economic reform and good governance. The Australia Awards are a significant component of this investment. They open up new learning opportunities to Sri Lankans who have the potential to be catalysts for sustainable development.

The Australia Awards also foster enduring people-to-people links and partnerships between Australia and Sri Lanka,” Mudie said.

External Affairs Minister Prof G L Peiris was the Chief Guest. A large number of Australia Awards alumni attended the event.

Ten awardees from the cohort have also been selected for the prestigious Australian Leadership Awards. “These students were selected for their outstanding potential to influence positive social and economic development in Sri Lanka and the region,” Mudie said.

They will join more than 1,100 emerging leaders across Asia and the Pacific who have been conferred Leadership Awards since 2007.

The 30 recipients of Australia Awards will undertake degrees at Australian universities in education, environment, health or governance.

The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) will invest Australian $ 350 million globally in Australia Awards in 2012-13, offering over 4,400 new awards to support human resource development in developing countries around the globe, including Sri Lanka.