New Delhi, June 9 (IANS): India Monday signed an MoU with Sri Lanka for building a cultural centre in Jaffna, in northern Sri Lanka, according to ministry of external affairs statement.
The centre is to be built in the next 36 months, on a plot of land adjacent to the Jaffna Public Library, at an estimated cost of SLR 1.2 billion.
As per the memorandum of understanding (MoU), the cultural centre and the adjoining water body, the Pullukulam, will be transformed into an integrated cultural space that can also accommodate open-air performances on a floating stage.
The purpose of the Jaffna Cultural Centre is to provide suitable social infrastructure for the people of the Northern Province, especially for the people of Jaffna, to help them reconnect with their cultural roots.
It would also serve as a delivery centre for training, instruction and education in a variety of cultural disciplines.
High Commissioner of India Y.K. Sinha and the Sri Lankan Secretary to the Ministry of Economic Development Nihal Jayathilaka signed the MoU in the presence of Basil Rajapaksa, Sri Lankan minister of economic development.