China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) Visited Faculty of Defence and Strategic Studies to Build Cooperation

The Department of Strategic Studies (DSS) of the Faculty of Defence and Strategic Studies is pleased to announce the successful visit of the delegations of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) to discuss future collaboration in the field of Security and Strategic Studies. The visit took place on 29^th May 2023 at the FDSS Boardroom.

The meeting was chaired by Brigadier DCA Wickramasinghe USP USACGSC, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Defence and Administration) of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University. Professor Zhang Yuncheng, Director of the Institute of World Economic Studies, represented as head of the delegation from CICIR. The discussion provided an opportunity to discuss the interests of the parties, knowledge sharing, and fostering mutual understanding in future cooperation fields.

During the discussion, CICIR expressed their interest in collaborating on the research work, publications, and exchange programmes conducted with the Department of Strategic Studies. Both interacted on a wide range of strategic issues, geopolitical trends, national security challenges, and ongoing initiatives. The Department of Strategic Studies and CICIR recognize the importance of developing cooperation and building strong relations to address common issues highlighted in the meeting. CICIR came to an understanding of how to expand collaboration between two partners through joint research and conferences based on identified issues across all domains.

Dr. LOU Chunhao, Dr. WANG Li, and Dr. LIN Yiming from CICIR were represented at the meeting, and Col RKARP Rathnayake RSP USP psc, the dean of FDSS, Dr. HR Vidanage, HOD-DSS, Col LR Amarasekara, Research Coordinator, and the lecturers represented the Faculty of Defence and Strategic Studies.