Sri Lankan Culture Minister Dr. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi visited Moscow to discuss deepening bilateral cultural ties with Russian officials, proposing 70 cultural initiatives to commemorate seven decades of diplomatic relations between the two nations.
Sri Lanka's Minister of Culture, Dr. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi, recently traveled to Moscow for discussions with Russia's Deputy Minister of Culture, Andrei Malyshev, focused on strengthening the cultural bond between the two countries. Both officials emphasized culture's role as a meaningful bridge connecting peoples and reinforcing the broader bilateral relationship.
A central proposal emerging from the talks involves marking the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations through an equivalent number of cultural initiatives spanning diverse fields. According to the Colombo Gazette, these planned programs would encompass literature, performing arts, visual arts, heritage preservation, museum exhibitions, film, music, educational exchanges, and Buddhist cultural heritage, along with institutional collaborations.
Minister Senevi also introduced a concept termed the "New Literary Cultural Triangle," designed as a framework connecting historic centers of world literature and humanistic thought. The initiative aims to foster intellectual dialogue and cultural exchange among major literary and civilisational traditions while contributing to broader Eurasian cultural cooperation.
Both nations have agreed in principle to formalize their cooperation through a Cultural Cooperation Agreement, which officials indicated would establish institutional structures for expanded exchange and regular collaborative projects. To facilitate this development, Sri Lanka's Ambassador to Russia, Shobini Gunasekera, hosted an official reception attended by prominent Russian cultural figures and representatives from major institutions including the Russian State Library.
