Distance is not a barrier for friendship
During a visit to Yekaterinburg, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sri Lanka to Russia, Janitha Abeywickrema Liyanage visited USUE. At a meeting with USUE Rector Yakov Silin, they discussed prospects for creating a Russian language center in Sri Lanka and the XIV Eurasian Economic Youth Forum (EEYF).
Madam Ambassador contributes to the development of inter-university cooperation between Russia and Sri Lanka. In particular, Ural State University of Economics, through the mediation of Janitha Liyanage, interacts with three universities in Sri Lanka. At today’s meeting, USUE Rector Yakov Silin highlighted how fruitful these relations are.
“Two years ago, we had 8 Sri Lankan students, and today there are already 18 of them. Seven are doing the bachelors, one is studying for a master’s degree, and ten others are mastering the Russian language at the preparatory faculty. We offer training in 8 areas so that young people can enter any university in Russia. Colleagues were saying to me that Sri Lanka is far away, it is better to cooperate with those who are closer, but we proceed from the fact that friendly relations do not have distance. If parties desire, they resolve these issues - our friendship with Sri Lankan universities is evidence of this,” Yakov Silin said.
Ms. Liyanage has had friendly relations with USUE since the XII EEYF: in particular, she took part in the annual Forum of Diplomats and the roundtable “Dialogue on Equals” with the participation of students and young scientists. At the forum in 2023, Janitha Liyanage gave a speech at the opening ceremony on the importance of forging new international relations.
USUE Rector Yakov Silin invited the official representative of Sri Lanka in the Russian Federation to visit the XIV EEYF to be held from April 22 to April 26, 2024. By this time, perhaps, they will already have opened the Russian Language Center in Sri Lanka, as emphasized by USUE Vice-Rector for Social Work and Youth Policy, Roman Krasnov.
“After my visit to Sri Lanka, we and representatives of Rossotrudnichestvo, in particular with our graduate Maria Popova, the head of the Russian House in Sri Lanka, reached an agreement on the establishing of the Center. They even showed me the building where the Center would be located,” Roman Krasnov said.
Madam Ambassador noted she was pleased to hear news about the development of relations between universities in Sri Lanka and Russia.
“The Russian Language Center is an excellent idea. It will allow people to get to know a little about the country before they come to Russia. Besides students, we have a lot of tourists, and the Centers will allow us to train employees involved in the tourism business and those who go to work in Russia, and they are many. In addition, we are interested in your specialists conducting remote lectures,” Janitha Liyanage said.
New options for international cooperation were readily supported by meeting participants from USUE. To implement online lectures, in particular on tourism, the university has all the capabilities and extensive experience. USUE is also ready to increase the flow of Sri Lankan students. In general, about 2.5 thousand foreign students from 68 countries study at the university at all levels and forms of education. The university has high-status scientific journals and dissertation councils, which allow students and scientists to fulfill their scientific potential.
