At the initiative of Prof. Janitha A. Liyanage, H. E. the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Russia, on 22 June 2023, the Embassy organized an introductory online meeting between the Center of Competences in Tourism and Hospitality, the Saint-Petersburg State University of Economics and the Gampaha Wickramarachchi University of Indigenous Medicine.

Prof. Elena Vasilieva, Acting Director General of the Center, which was initially established under the Saint-Petersburg State University of Economics, described the activities of the Center, which aim at promotion of tourism in the Northwestern part of Russia. The Center, which actively works on development of tourist standards, training of hospitality-related professionals and preparation of training materials expressed strong interest in developing links with the Gampaha Wickramarachchi University of Indigenous Medicine and in particular its Healthcare Tourism prorgamme.
Prof. Ranjana W. Seneviratne, Vice Chancellor of the Gampaha Wickramarachchi University of Indigenous Medicine, in his turn, noted that there are many aspects, in which the sides could contribute, as the University teaches a number of other tourism courses, such as sports, eco and water tourism. Therefore, GWUIM proposed to collaborate with the Center through policy planning, student-centered activities, guest lectures, curriculum development support, virtual tours, etc. The sides decided to consider signing a Memorandum of Understanding and continue collaboration in various forms.