Sri Lanka joins Foundation Council of Geneva Centre for Security Policy

From right: GCSP Foundation Council Chairman Professor François Heisbourg, Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha and GCSP Director Ambassador Christian Dussey at the GCSP Foundation Council Meeting

Sri Lanka has been admitted to the Foundation Council, the Governing Body of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP). 

Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha represented Sri Lanka for the first time at the Foundation Council Meeting held last week (15 November) in Geneva. 

Welcoming Sri Lanka, Professor François Heisbourg  Chairman of the GCSP Foundation Council expressed confidence that Sri Lanka would actively contribute towards the work of the Council. 

Addressing the Foundation Council, Aryasinha recalled the long relationship between the GCSP and Sri Lanka and expressed hope that Sri Lanka’s membership in the Foundation Council would contribute to further enhance such engagement in the future.  While thanking the GCSP for the opportunities it has provided for Sri Lankan participants including members of the Mission in Geneva to attend GCSP programmes, Aryasinha noted that Sri Lanka is committed to contribute to the furtherance of GCSP’s reach, by providing a platform in Colombo for hosting programmes in cooperation with the Government, with a view to reaching out to the Asian region. 

In this regard he referred to the upcoming International Defence Attache Seminar to be organised by the GCSP in December 2016, in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence and the Kotelawala Defence University in Colombo.  

GCSP Director Ambassador Christian Dussey noted that in 2016 the GCSP conducted 40 courses, which involved 720 participants belonging to 109 nationalities, an increase by 15% from last year. This included 15 new courses in 2016. He further noted that the ‘Defence Attache Programme’ to be held shortly in Colombo is part of the GCSP’s outreach programme, and that the Seminar in Colombo would be the first to be held by the GCSP in the South and East Asia region.  

The GCSP is an international foundation established in 1995, which focuses on promoting peace, security and stability through education, research and dialogue. The institute offers training courses throughout the year, to government officials, diplomats, military officers, international civil servants and NGO staff in the field of international peace and security. Sri Lanka joins 48 other Member States and the Canton of Geneva in overseeing the work and guiding the strategy of the GCSP.