On 12 January 2023 at the invitation of the Chuvash State Pedagogical University (ChSPU) named after UI. Y. Yakovlev, Prof. Janitha A. Liyanage, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Russian Federation, participated in a Presentation of the Exposition of the Activities of the Chuvash State Pedagogical University in Sri Lanka in the framework of the International Exhibition-Forum Russia.

Cooperation between the ChSPU and Sri Lanka, which started with the visit of the Ambassador to the Chuvash Republic in May 2022, has already brought considerable results. Since then the Chuvash State Pedagogical University signed Memoranda of Understanding with three Sri Lankan Universities (Gampaha Wickramarachchi University of Indigenous Medicine, University of Vavuniya, South Eastern University), and opened its Centers of Russian language and Culture in two of them. In partnership with the ChSPU, the Gampaha Wickramarachchi University of Indigenous Medicine and the University of Vavuniya have already conducted offline and online Russian language courses and it is planned to initiate the same in the South Eastern University this year.
Apart from that, the University representatives have established links with two Sri Lankan schools: the Helena Wijayawardhana Balika Vidyalaya, which already teaches Russian language to 650 Sri Lankan students, and the Homagama Mahinda Rajapaksa College, which is now planning to introduce the Russian language to its curriculum.
The Rector of ChSPU, Dr. Igor Kozhanov, who welcomed the audience, underlined that in 2024 the University is planning to continue the implementation of relevant courses, advanced training of Russian language teachers available in the Republic, scientific and methodological support and cooperation in the scientific field.
The event was also graced by Mr. Sergey Antonov, Deputy Director of the Department of Training, Professional Development and Social Security of Teaching Staff of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, and Ms. Anna Goryainova, Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation and Public Relations of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, who read out a message from Mr. Denis Gribov, Deputy Minister of Education of Russia. Mr. Gribov conveyed his gratitude to Prof. Janitha A. Liyanage for her participation in developing of cooperation between Russia and Sri Lanka in the field of education and expressed his hopes for the further development of interaction for the benefit of both countries.
Ms. Marina Korosteleva, Deputy Secretary General of the Russian Association of International Cooperation, who also joined the event, assured the gathering of the organization's strongest support to the activities initiated in the framework of cooperation of the Chuvash State Pedagogical University with its Sri Lankan counterparts and proposed to expand cooperation to other humanitarian spheres.
The presentation continued a colourful performance of a team of Sri Lankan students from the Peoples' Friendship University, who performed a traditional Kandyan dance Gajaga and became a bright final point of the event after which the University administration demonstrated to Prof. Janitha A. Liyanage some pictures from the arts competition held in the Helena Wijayawardhana Balika Vidyalaya and educational materials used by teachers at Yakovlev University to teach Russian to citizens of Sri Lanka in 2023. In the afternoon on the same day H. E. the Ambassador invited the Rector of ChSPU for a lunch, in the course of which a further roadmap of cooperation was discussed.