Chancellor Major General Peiris
Written by Afghanistan Embassy – Colombo
Sunday, 17/10/2021
Colombo: – Following their November 2020 meeting, Ambassador M. Ashraf Haidari and Major General Milinda Peiris, the Vice Chancellor of General Sir John Kotelawala Defense University (KDU), met at Sri Lanka’s prestigious military University on October 12, 2021. The Ambassador extended the appreciation of the Islamic Republic to the General and Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Piyal De Silva for positively responding to Ambassador Haidari’s request from the KDU last November to consider increasing the number of its annual scholarships to qualified Afghan cadets. Consequently, four Afghan cadets were admitted to the KDU early this year since when they have been pursuing degrees in computer science, law, and architecture.
Moreover, they discussed the recent developments in Afghanistan and their implications for regional stability and international peace. Ambassador Haidari noted that maritime security in the Indian Ocean region would most be affected by the unfolding situation in Afghanistan with implications for coastal nations, including Sri Lanka, where drugs produced in Afghanistan and trafficked by regional and transnational organized criminal networks had already affected public health, while financing terrorist activities aimed at undermining governments in the region.
Ambassador Haidari also discussed the failed Doha Peace Agreement, which excluded the Islamic Republic, and its total lack of implementation has emboldened terrorists across the world. In this light, he congratulated the General on Sri Lanka’s decisiveness in its early war against terrorism, which the country defeated in 2009. As South Asia’s oldest democracy, Ambassador Haidari said that Afghanistan had much to learn from Sri Lanka’s war-to-peace-transition, with the continued support of the international community, which he said should help ensure the formation of an inclusive and representative government soon.
Following their discussion, Ambassador Haidari met with the Afghan cadets and inquired them of their studies, which they said were going well and extended their appreciation to the KDU leadership, faculty, and staff for their continued support and encouragement. The Ambassador assured the cadets of their Embassy’s full support and advised them not to be discouraged by the recent developments and to continue pursuing their academic and professional goals and dreams.
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