Prof. Asanga Abeyagoonasekera is the Director General of the National Security Think Tank, the Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka ( INSSSL) under Ministry of Defence. He is a visiting professor for Geopolitics (Northern Kentucky University), International Security (University of Colombo) and International Political Economy (University of London RIC). Asanga is a Columnist for IPCS and the South Asia Journal. He contributes articles on geopolitics and regional security. He has authored many academic journal articles and presented in Defence, Foreign Policy think tanks, Universities and Government Ministries including Quai d' Orsay in Paris, LKY School of Public Policy in Singapore, Jesus College Cambridge University. His major field of interest is geopolitics of South Asia, Indian Ocean Region and regional security in South Asia.
He has 13 years of experience at the Government Administration sector. He was the former Executive Director of the Government think tank on Foreign Policy, the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies and was the Advisor to Minister of External Affairs from 2012-2015. At the same time, he was the Director General of Bandaranayake International Diplomatic Training Institute (BIDTI), Government diplomatic training institute.
He was educated at Harvard Kennedy School, Jackson Institute for Global Affairs at Yale University, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (Singapore), ECU Perth (Western Australia), University of Oxford (England). Asanga is an Alumnus of the US State Department International Visitors Leadership Program(IVLP), National Defense University in Washington and APCSS (Hawaii). He was recognized as a Young Global Leader (YGL) for the World Economic Forum in 2012. His 2015 published book “Towards a better world order” focus geopolitics of the region and importance of preserving Sri Lanka’s democratic institutions. In 2016, he authored a chapter “The Modi Doctrine: New Paradigms in India’s Foreign Policy”.
10:30 – 11:00 | Registration/Coffee
11:00 – 11:05 | Opening Remarks by Dr Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan
11:05 – 11:10 | Remarks by the Chair, Amb. G. Parthasarathy, Director, India-Sri Lanka Foundation; Chancellor, Central University of Jammu and; President, India Habitat Centre
11:10 – 11:30 | Remarks by the author, Dr Asanga Abeyagoonasekera, Director General, the Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka ( INSSSL)
11:30 – 12:00 | Q & A and Discussion
