10 August 2023, the Government of Sri Lanka hosted the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding with ICGEB for an RRC in South Asia.
The event marks the culmination of years of preparation during which the proposal for an ICGEB Regional Research Centre – the Sri Lanka Institute of Technology SLIBTEC – was advanced, approved by the ICGEB Board of Governors and, most recently, passed by the Sri Lankan Cabinet. The ceremony was held live in Colombo in the presence of Dr. Susil Premajayanthe, Minister of Education of Sri Lanka.
Prof. Samitha Hettige, Chairman of SLIBTEC, presided the event and welcomed all in attendance, extending particular thanks to Dr. Sirimali Fernando, Prof. and Chair of Microbiology at the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, former Member of the International Science Council and former Governor for Sri Lanka to the ICGEB, and all colleagues who made this development possible.
Dr. Lawrence Banks, ICGEB Director-General, attending, and signing the MoU during the ceremony virtually from Trieste, Italy, emphasised his pleasure at cementing this historic moment with the Government of Sri Lanka, member state of ICGEB since 1993.
