President Ranil Wickremesinghe stated that he intends to seek the Japanese Government’s assistance during his upcoming visit to Japan, to establish a Maha Vihara University, an international standard university to study Theravada Buddhism.
The President expressed that the hope is to get the contribution of Buddhist countries like Thailand and Bhutan for this purpose.
The President made these comments while visiting the Chief Prelates of the Malwathu and Asgiri Chapters, this morning (20).
President Wickremesinghe also submitted a bill to amend the Buddhist Temporalities Ordinance & establish a Theravada monk discourse to seek the guidance of the Chief Prelates of the Malwathu and Asgiri Chapters.
The Chief prelates pointed out the importance of formalizing the Tripitaka Conservation Bill and the Buddhist Publications Regulation Act, and the President instructed the Secretary of the Ministry of Buddha Sasana to prepare amendments to the Tripitaka Conservation Bill & the Buddhist Publications/Texts Regulatory Act to be submitted to the Cabinet.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who first arrived at the Malwathu Maha Vihara this morning, visited and received the blessings of the Chief Prelate of the Malwathu Chapter, Most Venerable Thibbatuwawe Sri Sumangala Mahanayaka Thera, and engaged in a brief discussion.
Senior Adviser to the President on National Security and Chief of the Presidential Staff Sagala Ratnayake was also present on this occasion and the Maha Sangha led by Chief Incumbent of the Malwathu Chapter chanted Pirith, and offered his blessings to the President and the delegation.
According to the request made by the Chief Prelates of the Malwathu and Asgiri Chapters, at the Presidential Palace in Kandy on February 19, the bill was completed in three months and presented again for the admonition of the Chief Prelates.
Emphasizing the need to develop Kandy as a state-of-the-art city by developing the infrastructure, the President said that the development activities related to the Kandy Metropolitan Plan will be started this year, and that all major city development plans in the country are planned to be implemented and completed promptly.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe mentioned that Pathahewahata and Kundasale local councils are expected to be converted into municipal councils and it will be implemented under the Kandy city development plan.
The President also stated that plans to develop Kandy’s old prison and post office as a tourist attraction will be implemented in the future while preserving historical values.
Also, the possibility of extending the expressway from Kurunegala and Galagedara to Katugastota, and the benefits of it, was also focused on.
