Pathfinder Foundation in tie-up with Moscow think-tank

The Pathfinder Foundation (PF) has entered into a collaboration agreement with the Russian International Affairs Council ( RIAC), a Moscowbased think-tank, to promote joint projects and initiatives.

The agreement signed by Andrey Kortunov, Director General of RIAC and Bernard Goonetilleke, Chairman, PF seeks to exchange analytical papers between the two institutions, implement joint projects to strengthen the stance of the two countries in the international arena, including conducting roundtable discussions and workshops; develop interaction between Russian and Sri Lankan institutions in international research activities; and engage in mutual informational support through the respective web-resources and social media channels.

A media release from PF said RIAC, a non- profit academic and diplomatic think-tank that was established in 2010 pursuant to a presidential decree is aimed at strengthening peace, friendship and solidarity between peoples, preventing international conflicts and promoting conflict resolution and crisis settlement, is recognized as one of Moscow's best-known and authoritative think-tanks. With the former Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov functioning as President and the current Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as Chairman of Board of Trustees, RIAC has over the past seven years established itself well, within and outside Russia by hosting international conferences, publishing reports on international issues and holding events for young experts, scholars, diplomats and journalists. RIAC operates as a link between the state, scholarly community, business and civil society in an effort to find foreign policy solutions to complex conflict issues.

Founded by former Minister Milinda Moragoda, PF is an independent, non- profit, non- partisan and advocacy think-tank, which has played a catalytic role in promoting economic policy reforms in Sri Lanka.