Two scholarships from France to support water management and sustainable development in Sri Lanka

French Ambassador Jean-Marin Schuh hands over scholarships to NWSDB Manager (Commercial – Western Central) Nishantha Suranjith

France and Sri Lanka are engaged in a substantial cooperation for water treatment and sustainable development in Sri Lanka. 

In this regard, French Ambassador Jean-Marin Schuh will award two scholarships for Masters in France on the water sector for senior members of the National Water Supply & Drainage Board (NWSDB).

Nishantha Suranjith – Manager (Commercial – Western Central), NWSDB and Disna Pannila – Manager (Planning and Coordination), NWSDB, will get scholarships to attend classes in France for the Master ‘Water for all’ with the support  of French Agency for Development (AFD) and French company Suez Environnement.

The objective of the Master ‘Water for All’ financed by AFD in partnership with Suez and AgroParisTech is to promote good governance of the water sector in Sri Lanka, and a good leadership and strategic organisation of the NWSDB.

The Master will officially start on Sunday 5 February with eight months in Montpellier France, seven months in Sri Lanka for preparation of a Strategic Action Plan and four weeks in Singapore and Cambodia for cases studies.

France has been supporting the water sector in Sri Lanka since 2004 via the French Agency for Development (AFD). AFD financed infrastructures in Trincomalee to provide potable water in the Eastern Province. Now AFD is involved in water supply and sewerage sectors and works with the Ministry of City Planning and Water Supply and its implementing agency – the National Water Supply and Drainage Board – to achieve the national goals.

France has unique training centres in the world, including the International Office for Water (in Limoges in the South of France).