PMD clarifies on NIRDC’s meetings with ADB and JICA

Saturday, 5 July 2025 00:49 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The President’s Media Division in response to Daily FT story titled “NIRDC, ADB, and JICA hold talks to boost Sri Lanka’s innovation and youth” (https://www.ft.lk/business/NIRDC-ADB-and-JICA-hold-talks-to-boost-Sri-Lanka-s-innovation-and-youth/34-778307) has sent the following clarification.

It has come to our attention that Daily FT has published a news article referring to meetings

held by the National Initiative for Research and Development Commercialization (NIRDC) with

the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) as if

they were a single, joint discussion.

We would like to clarify that the meetings with ADB and JICA were two entirely separate

engagements, conducted independently on different occasions, with distinct participants and

discussion points. These meetings were not connected or held jointly, and any implication

otherwise is factually incorrect.

The original version of this news item published on the official Presidential Media Division

(PMD) website inadvertently presented the two meetings in a manner that could be

misinterpreted. We regret this oversight and have taken steps to correct the original article to

accurately reflect the nature of both meetings.