On the occasion of the Opening Ceremony of The University of Tokyo Sri Lanka Office

Mr. Anura Dissanayake, Secretary, Ministry of Higher Education, Technology and Innovations,
Prof. Sampath Amaratunge, Chairman, University Grant Commission,
Prof. SEKIMURA Naoto, Vice President, The University of Tokyo,
Prof. WATANABE Satoshi, Special Advisor to the President of The University of Tokyo,
Prof. AIHARA Akira, Executive Director and Vice President, The University of Tokyo,
Prof. H.D. Karunaratne, Director, The University of Tokyo Sri Lanka Office,
Representatives from JAGAAS,
Representatives from University of Tokyo Alumni Association of Sri Lanka,
Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,
 
 
Good evening, Ayu Bowan, Wanakkam and こんばんは,
 
It is my great privilege to say a few words on this auspicious opening ceremony of the University of Tokyo Sri Lanka Office today. First and foremost, let me extend my heartfelt congratulations to the members of the University of Tokyo, headed by Prof. SEKIMURA Naoto and Prof. H.S. Karunaratne, for successfully guiding the Sri Lanka Office to see the light of the day, while establishing firm academic foothold in Sri Lanka. On a personal note, it also gives me great pleasure to see my alma mater playing a leading role in South Asia, including this beautiful island nation, in increasing the number of foreign students to study at universities in Japan, starting with the University of Tokyo itself.
 
Ladies and Gentlemen,
                                                                                              
The fact that the establishment of Sri Lanka Office has been the second in line by the University of Tokyo, preceded only by the office in India, attests greater potential that remains untapped between the two countries in the area of education. Indeed, I believe that the launching of Sri Lanka Office would help unleash wider possibility of opening a new avenue of achieving the target of increasing foreign students by 1.5 times in the next 4 years –which aligns with “300,000 international Students Plan” set out by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology - MEXT in short.
 
In order to address this target more effectively, it is most essential to grasp the trend and inclination of the Sri Lankan students in their choice of country and university for higher education, namely, the key factors that affect their decision. To list a few, such factors may include: (a) Quality of education; (b) Value of international degree; (c) Accessibility to the scholarship; (d) Career prospective abroad; (e) Compatibility with the foreign language; and (f) Familiarity with the lifestyle, among others, which will be further discussed during the panel discussion scheduled later in the program, but our challenge at hand would be to set forth a well-knitted “action plan” upon which like-minded stakeholders like ourselves who are present here today can stand and work together towards the shared vision. With Prof. Karunaratne at the helm, bolstered by rich and successful experience of the University of Tokyo Office in India, and by joining our hands together, I am confident that we will be able to make innovative changes in the scholarly landscape between our two countries.
 
Ladies and Gentlemen,
 
Amongst many values that Sri Lanka and Japan share closely, “education”, which is deeply embedded in our tradition, ranks amongst the topmost position – bearing the utmost importance in developing national as well as individual characters. The very presence of the Japanese top university in Sri Lanka signals the aspirations of strengthening such traditional value furthermore, on top of attracting the best and brightest across the island to study in Japan. The timely opening of the office on the eve of the ceremonial inauguration of the EDEX Expo 2020 will also accelerate such currency, and the Embassy once again commends the University of Tokyo’s well-designed initiative and coordinated arrangements wholeheartedly.     
 
In conclusion, I would like to express our commitment to working closely with the newly launched office for this common cause, and reiterate our heartfelt felicitation to the members of the University of Tokyo and very best wishes for their success.
 
Thank you very much.