Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute

Competition is a natural byproduct of major powers navigating an anarchic world. Small states operating in such a milieu, however, face a policy dilemma when strategizing their foreign policy. Sri Lanka, sitting in the epicenter of the arc connecting the Persian Gulf to the Strait of Malacca, has captured international attention as a key battleground between Beijing and New Delhi in their tussle for influence in South Asia. While some scholars argue that the island is a personification of China’s “debt trap diplomacy,” others contend that it should not be a poster child of falling into a Chinese “debt trap,” as debt to China is less than 15 percent of Sri Lanka’s total external debt. Concerns over Sri Lanka’s sovereignty have been rife following the $1.12 billion debt-to-equity swap that saw Hambantota port handed over to China and the proposed lease of the Mattala International Airport to India. Sri Lanka is in no position to break off economic ties with either power. Accordi...

I first stepped into the lecture hall of the BIDTI with a lot of excitement and eagerness for as it was the first time I was learning in detail, things outside the borders of our island that mattered to the country. Every day was a new topic, a new expert and obviously a whole sea of information, ideas and food for thought that triggered our minds. The quality and standard of the course was such that, the syllabus was updated constantly. It was definitely not the traditional classroom where age old theory is taught out of a text book. In fact, within the walls of the BIDTI, we learnt the significance of a firm hand shake. We learnt that we should tilt the soup bowl away from us to sip the last bit. We learnt how transitional justice helps to develop our island in the North and East. We learnt how to make use of Sri Lanka’s strategic location to be a leader in emerging Asia. At the convocation, apart from being officially declared a diplomate, I was honoured to be the recipient ...

Few years back, any enterprising or catastrophic event in any part of the world would not bother our day to day lifestyle. However in present time, even a chicken suffering from mild fever in a remote village of Africa or a casual statement from any individual thousands of miles away from us, effects our life, our choices, our decisions, shapes our opinions and the way we perceive our surroundings. The globalized world and the advances in information technology has made our lives much more informed than ever before. However despite of the all the information at our disposal, our understanding of the world around us is still very limited. The reason lies in our inability to determine the adequacy of information and ply it with diplomatic and leadership skills in one’s favor. One of the persuasive reasons behind studying diplomacy and world affairs in today’s time is, that knowingly or unknowingly we all practice it and get influenced by it.     As a practitioner of i...

As an island caught in the cusp of global geopolitical change, the import ascribed to Sri Lanka and its foreign policy has markedly increased. A re-emerging ‘Asian Century’ bodes great benefits and challenges to all Sri Lankans and effectively harnessing this shift will assist us in reaching our collective goals and aspirations in the coming decades.   To not just comprehend, but to also make full use of this systemic power shift requires a clear understanding of international relations and its related dynamics. The North Korean nuclear dilemma, the purported rise of revisionist powers, the global economic recession, piracy in the Indian Ocean and terrorist attacks from Europe to South East Asia dominate the headlines of mainstream media today. All of us develop our own estimations and opinions concerning these problems as well as the impacts they may have on us as a nation. But how can we improve our awareness and apprehension of these topics? What avenues do S...

The UN was not created to take mankind to heaven, but to save humanity from hell.   — Dag Hammarskjöld, second United Nations Secretary-General (1953 to 1961) Sometimes I have seen that many people are questioning about the effectiveness of the role of United Nations in a world where it has to deal with number of new issues which arises each & every day. When someone is questioning the existence & the effectiveness of United Nations, I always recall the above quote from one of the former UN Secretary Generals & ask the question ‘What if there is no organization called United Nations? Just imagine, how the world would look like when over 193 nations act in their own without any cooperation or common agreement among each other?!?’    Being the Official Sri Lankan Youth Delegate to the 71 st United Nations General Assembly which was held at United Nations Headquarters in New York USA, was one of the most unforgettable experiences that I ever had in...