April 25, 2025 Reading Time: 2 minutes
Reading Time: 2 min read
Dr. Robin Geiss, the Director of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) met with Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha, Executive Director of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKI), at the LKI on 24 April 2025.
The discussion centered on the ongoing global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation efforts, the historical and more recent contributions made towards it by Sri Lanka, and the activities undertaken by UNIDIR in support of these initiatives including that on Autonomous Weapons Systems (AWS). Ambassador Aryasinha noted that this area had continued to be an important focus of the institutes recent work, and that in December 2024 the LKI, in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had hosted a panel discussion titled, ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI), Autonomous Weapons Systems (AWS) and Contemporary Challenges’ which drew wide-ranging stakeholders.
The LKI also recently published a comprehensive ‘LKI Policy Brief’ focusing on ‘Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation in Northeast Asia: A Case Study of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’ authored by Ms. Maheesha Premavansha of the LKI, and was currently working on a ‘LKI Policy Brief’ that focussed on AWS .
Dr. Geiss and Ambassador Aryasinha who emphasized the growing importance of Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security in the context of national security, also focused on the role of actors such as the USA, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, the DPRK, the ROK, Japan, as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the ICRC in this regard. The important role played by Non-State Actors in furthering these goals was also emphasized.
Ambassador Aryasinha also presented Dr. Robin Geiss a few LKI Policy Briefs which were published recently, and expressed readiness to undertake collaborative studies and activities with UNIDIR.
Ms. Fanny Sebban, Associate Political Affairs Officer, Office of the Directorate, UNIDIR, Ms. Dinushi Rupathunga, Assistant Director/ United Nations & Human Rights, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Maheesha Premavansha, LKI Research Intern and Mr. Abidh Jameel, LKI Research Intern also participated in the discussion.
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