Colombo, December 12 (newsin.asia): The Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, has said that India and Sri Lanka have a long tradition of harmonious coexistence between man and nature.
“Both countries have values that cherish, nourish and protect environment,” Sandhu told the 2nd International Symposium on Social Sciences here on Thursday.
“India and Sri Lanka going green is not a new motto and has always been part of our very existence. India and Sri Lanka are only building on to our legacy,” he added.
The 2nd International Symposium on Social Sciences and Humanities is being organised by the National Centre for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences (NCAS) in collaboration withUniversity Grants Commission and Ministry of Higher Education of Sri Lanka on 12 and 13 December 2019.
The theme for this year’s symposium is ‘Development towards Sustainability’. High Commissioner Sandhu participated as the Chief Guest.
In his address, the envoy focused on the importance of innovation for a clean, green, smart and sustainable growth. He mentioned that India is home today to 26 unicorns ie. startup companies valued at over US$ 1 billion.
He also complimented the spirit of innovation amongst young Sri Lankan scientists who are now making satellites and are providing key elements of software to global giants such as Ebay and Syscolabs.
Noting the efforts made by India and Sri Lanka towards building a greener, cleaner planet, High Commissioner mentioned that India and Sri Lanka are Founding Members of important initiatives such as International Solar Alliance, which focusses on renewables.
India has announced a USD 100 million credit line to develop solar projects in Sri Lanka.
Both India and Sri Lanka have also been jointly funding research programmes in Science & Technology for close to a decade and are partners in South Asia satellite which aids socio-economic development and welfare needs of the region through tele-education, tele-medicine, disaster management support etc.
Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, High Commissioner said that ‘The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems.’
The Indian envoy invited the young scholars to think of alternative models which are available, affordable and accessible, and also invited them to fully avail of the benefits of several scholarships and training programmes that are fully-funded by Government of India and are available to young scholars in Sri Lanka.
