LKI Executive Director attends India–Sri Lanka Policy Dialogue on Regional Environmental Cooperation

October 23, 2025    Reading Time: < 1 minute

Reading Time: < 1 min read

The Indo–Lanka Policy Dialogue on Regional Environmental Cooperation was held on 22 October 2025 at the Senate Hall of the University of Colombo, jointly organised by the Faculty of Law and the Centre for Environmental Law and Policy (CELP), University of Colombo, in collaboration with the Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA) and Amity Law School. Convened under the theme “Shared Futures, Shared Responsibilities: A Policy Dialogue for Regional Environmental Cooperation,” the Dialogue brought together senior jurists, policymakers, diplomats, and academics from Sri Lanka and India to discuss regional approaches to environmental governance.

Building on the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)’s commitment to regional environmental cooperation, discussions focused on shared responsibility, collaborative governance, and policy frameworks, with particular emphasis on principles relating to the law of the sea and marine environmental protection.

The keynote address was delivered by Hon. Justice Surya Kant, Judge of the Supreme Court of India and Chief Patron of CLEA. The programme featured contributions from Professor Dinesha Samararatne, Professor Surabhi Ranganathan, Professor of International Law at the University of Cambridge, who delivered the plenary address virtually, Hon. Parinda Ranasinghe (Junior), PC, Dr. Nishara Mendis, Executive Director of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute, and K.R. Uduwawala, Secretary to the Ministry of Environment. The Dialogue is expected to culminate in a regionally relevant Policy Framework Document addressing the BIMSTEC region’s shared environmental challenges.

The full article outlining the event can be accessed via The Island website.