Senior Research Fellow / Ms. Madhuka Rukmalgama

Ms. Madhuka Rukmalgama specialises in international relations, geopolitics and strategic affairs, with particular interests in South Asian and Indian Ocean geopolitics, the Indo-Pacific, China-Sri Lanka relations, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), environmental security, political ecology, and the strategic engagement of major powers with small states. She holds a BA (Honours) in Political Science (Second Class Upper) from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and an MA in International Relations (Merit) from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Prior to joining LKI, Ms. Rukmalgama worked at the LKIIRSS as a Research Assistant and served as an Assistant Lecturer at the University of Ruhuna. She also has completed a fellowship in Digital Security, Safe Sisters in Internews (NGO) and qualified as a Digital Security Trainer. She currently serves as a Visiting Lecturer at the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies (BCIS) and the Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute (BIDTI). International Research Engagements & Delegations Think Tank Representative - International Seminar on Path to Modernization: Takeaways from China's Theory and Practice in Poverty Alleviation, China, 2026 Think Tank Representative - Inter-Ministerial Workshop on Advancing the Implementation of the BBNJ Agreement and Ocean Governance Frameworks in Sri Lanka, 2026 Think Tank Representative - Research Delegation, China, 2025 Head of Delegation and Think Tank Representative - BIMSTEC Network of Policy Think Tanks (BNPTT), Nepal, 2025 Publications https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1309-4582