Asia

MoS L Murugan visits Sri Lanka's Thalaimannar to enhance business exchanges

"Deeper connectivity promotes people-to-people interactions and commercial and business exchanges!! Minister @Murugan_MOS visited Thalaimannar, from where ferry services are proposed to be resumed between India and Sri Lanka," the High Commission of India in Colombo tweeted.

ANI Feb 10, 2023 19:24 IST

MoS L Murugan visits Sri Lanka's Thalaimannar (Image Credit: Twitter/@IndiainSL)

Colombo [Sri Lanka], February 10 (ANI): Union Minister of State (MoS) for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan, who is on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka, visited Thalaimannar from where ferry services are proposed to be resumed between the two nations to enhance business exchanges.
"Deeper connectivity promotes people-to-people interactions and commercial and business exchanges!! Minister @Murugan_MOS visited Thalaimannar, from where ferry services are proposed to be resumed between India and Sri Lanka," the High Commission of India in Colombo tweeted.
Murugan is in Sri Lanka from February 9-12 and during his stay in the island country, he will participate in the dedication of the Jaffna Cultural Centre constructed with the Indian government's grant to the people of Sri Lanka. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the Jaffna Cultural Centre in March 2015.
During the visit, Murugan will visit various sites that underline the scale and extent of the Indian government's people-centric development partnership in Sri Lanka. He will also hold meetings with leaders and stakeholders, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in the press release.

According to the press release, Jaffna Cultural Center is a "magnificent example of India-Sri Lanka development partnership." The center was conceived as a reconciliation project primarily aimed at expanding the cultural infrastructure for the people of the northern province.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in the press release further said, "This state-of-the-art facility consists of multiple facilities such as a museum of two floors, an advanced theater-style auditorium for more than 600 people, an 11-storeyed learning tower; a public square which could also act as an amphitheater, etc."

In this Jaffna cultural event, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe will also participate. He will join this event on Saturday.

Built with an Indian government grant, the center is a glowing example of an India - Sri Lanka development partnership. Along with the Sri Lankan President, Union Minister of State (MoS) for information and broadcasting L Murugan, Sri Lankan Minister of Fisheries and Jaffna District Member of Parliament Douglas Devananda, Minister of Buddhasasana, religious and cultural affairs Vidura Wickramanayaka, Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay along with other dignitaries will be taking part in this event.

The center includes a temporary Exhibition Gallery (Air conditioned), an Open exhibition gallery, Gift Shop, Museum Stores and workshops, a 100-seat Conference facility, a cafeteria, Multi-Media Library, Lecture rooms, Studios, and Gallery spaces.

The architecture of JCC has a strong and symbiotic relationship with the adjoining Jaffna Public Library (JPL) building which also provides new public spaces and new iconic landmarks for the City of Jaffna. The design for the Jaffna Cultural Centre (JCC) is based on the twin concepts of "Celebrating the Old and inspiring the New"& "A civic space for shared experiences of art and culture".

The MoU or the Memorandum of Understanding for the construction of the Jaffna Cultural center was signed on June 9th, 2014. Following its construction, the iconic facility was virtually inaugurated during the visit of Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar when he visited Colombo in March 2022, along with the then Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa nearly after two years after its construction.

The Government of India has also agreed to extend maintenance support for a period of five years. Both sides signed an enabling clause to operationalize this commitment in March 2022.

The architects of the Jaffna Cultural Centre (JCC) which is a gift to Sri Lanka from the Government of India were selected via an architectural design competition in 2011. The Construction of the center was started in September 2016 and completed in March 2020. (ANI)