General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) and Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand signed a Memorandum of Agreement on 14th November 2022 for a postgraduate capacity-building partnership programme. Under this agreement, KDU and AIT expect to conduct postgraduate research and expand the opportunities available for postgraduate studies for students and staff.

The MOA was signed by Vice Chancellor of KDU Major General Milinda Peiris RWP RSP VSV USP and President of the Asian Institute of Technology Prof Kazuo Yamamoto in the presence of the Ambassador of Thailand His Excellency Poj Harnpol in a ceremony organized in hybrid mode at the Senate Hall of KDU.

The Ambassador thanked the Vice Chancellor for inviting him to the ceremony and expressed his gratitude to both institutions for the initiative and highlighted that the MOA is in line with the current needs of Sri Lanka, and it coincides with the road map envisaged by His Excellency the president of Sri Lanka in his Budget speech at the Parliament.

The Vice Chancellor of KDU in his remarks thanked the President of AIT for choosing KDU for his first official overseas visit since becoming the President of AIT and emphasized his commitment to firmly execute the MOA signed.

Professor Yamamoto in his speech stated that both KDU and AIT have many potential areas for cooperation and recalled his memories of his first visit to Sri Lanka in 2015. He said he has a special place for Sri Lanka and invited KDU for further collaboration.

The President of AIT was accompanied by the Director, of the Office of Advancement & Alumni Affairs Mr Sanjeev Jayasinghe and senior and Advancement Officer Ms Sirikate Owasit while the Dean of the School of Engineering & Technology Prof. Dieter Trau, Dean of, School of Environment, Resources and Development Prof. Vilas Nitivattananon, Dean, School of Management Dr Roger Levermore, Director Office of International Affairs Mr Shawn Kelly and Senior Program Officer Ms I.D Indra Kumari,  joined the ceremony virtually from AIT.

The Rector Metropolitan Campus of KDU Maj. Gen Lal Gunasekara RSP USP psc, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Defence and Admin) Brig. Wipula Chandrasiri RSP USP psc Dean Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Spatial Sciences, Management Social Sciences and Humanities, Director of International Relations, and Deputy Registrar joined the signing ceremony from KDU.