The Country Programme Framework for Sri Lanka for the period 2009-2013 was signed by M.B.A. Ebanayake, Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of Sri Lanka, and Ana María Cetto, Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Technical Cooperation, on 29 October 2009, at the IAEA Headquarters. H.E. Musthafa Mohamed Jaffeer, Ambassador, and the Resident Representative of Sri Lanka to the IAEA, was also present on this occasion.
The document constitutes the frame of reference for the short-and-medium-term planning of technical cooperation activities between the Republic of Sri Lanka and the International Atomic Energy Agency for the period 2009-2013. The near term programme covers activities in the following areas:
- agriculture and livestock production,
- water resources management,
- human health,
- environment,
- industrial applications like Non-Destructive Testing,
- nuclear safety and security, etc.
The medium term programme consolidates the near term activities, and in addition, focuses on the industrial and energy sector, specially in preparation for the long term country plan to contemplate nuclear power for electricity generation.
Sri Lanka became a member of IAEA in 1957 and has been a partner in the Technical Cooperation Programme since then. Under this programme in the past, a substantial infrastructure and technical capabilities were established in the health, agriculture and industrial sectors. Nuclear technologies, such as NDT, in-vitro and in-vivo nuclear medicine, radiation therapy, radiation mutation breeding, radiation tissue graft, radio-analytical techniques, radioisotope-based techniques for diagnosis of major infectious diseases, etc., have been introduced and successfully transferred to the end users.
Sri Lanka is an active participant in the Regional Cooperation Agreement (RCA) programme, and other regional projects. The Atomic Energy Authority of Sri Lanka is the national focal organisation for the IAEA.
[Contributed by Mohammed Munim Awais]