On January 30, 2019 Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Russian Federation Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka and Madame Sanja Jayatilleka paid a visit to the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the largest and the oldest higher education establishment in Russia in the area of the Humanities with 500 researchers working on the Asian and North African history and culture, economics and politics, and languages.
Ambassador Jayatilleka and Madame Jayatilleka were received by the President of the Institute, Professor Vitaly Naumkin, and the Head of Indian Studies Dr. Tatiana Shaumyan.
The President V. Naumkin spoke about the history of the Institute, which celebrated 200 Anniversary last year, and the current structure of the institutes with the numerous centers for South-East Asia, Oceania and Australia studies, Indian studies, Middle East studies, Central Asia, Caucasus and Volga-Ural region studies, Arabic and Islamic studies, Japan studies, near Eastern studies and other areas of researches.
Professor V. Naumkin holds degree in History and is an author of over 500 publications on the history of Asia, the Arab world, Central Asia and Caucasus, international relations and political science.
Prof. V.Naumkin and Prof. T.Shaumyan expressed their interest in academic cooperation with Ambassador Jayatilleka and were keen to arrange a lecture by him to an audience of academics, researchers and postgraduate students.
