SAARC Cultural Centre in Matara will foster friendship and greater understanding among people in the region

(March 27, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Speaking at the inauguration of the Office of the SAARC Cultural Centre in Colombo on 25 March, Chief Guest Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama hailed the event as an important step that would enable the region to begin work on the implementation of the SAARC Agenda for Culture through the operationalization of the SAARC Cultural Centre. The Office of the SAARC Cultural Centre which thus commenced work yesterday will also be responsible for overseeing the construction of a Cultural Centre Complex in Nawimana, Matara, where the Centre will be eventually housed.

Tracing the history of the establishment of the Centre Minister Bogollagama stated that it was in 1998 when Sri Lanka previously held the Chairmanship of SAARC that leaders of SAARC who met in Colombo at the 10th Summit acknowledged that the SAARC process could draw more deeply from the vitality and strength of South Asia’s shared cultural heritage as a source influencing and enhancing creative energies in all fields. In this context, the Government offered to establish a SAARC Cultural Centre in Sri Lanka to promote the distinctive arts of South Asia. In fulfilment of this pledge, the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and National Heritage and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have taken steps under the direction and guidance of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, to establish the SAARC Cultural Centre in Matara. The Centre which would be easily accessible to artists, teachers and students from the region and beyond once the Colombo-Matara Expressway is completed will have an auditorium, a well endowed library, seminar and lecture halls, and modest but comfortable accommodation and hostel facilities. Elaborating further on what activities the Centre could undertake, the minister said that he is confident that the Cultural Centre will, through enhanced interaction, foster friendship and greater understanding among the people of the region.

Minister of Cultural Affairs and National Heritage Mahinda Yapa Abeywardane and Director of the Centre, Secretary of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and National Heritage G.L.W. Samarasinghe also spoke at the event.

The Cultural Centre Office was opened at 224, Bullers Road, Colombo 7 in a simple ceremony attended by diplomats, artists, academics and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and National Heritage.

Religious dignitaries representing the Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic and Christian faiths conducted religious observances at the commencement of the inauguration ceremony.

Following the Opening of the Office of the Cultural Centre, the Governing Board of the Centre consisting of representatives of all SAARC Member States will hold its first meeting in Colombo on 6th and 7th March 2009.

-Sri Lanka Guardian