PIM, University of Canberra to develop Customs in the region

Sri Lanka Customs has agreed to enter into a Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding with the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM), University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Colombo and the Centre for Customs and Excise Studies (CCES), University of Canberra, Australia to educate customs staff at a national level.

The MoU, to be signed in Colombo, seeks to ensure assistance from PIM and CCES in developing training and educational programs that will articulate into postgraduate studies specialising in customs issues for staff serving Sri Lanka Customs and the South Asian region, according to a PIM press release.

In Sri Lanka, PIM is the leading business school engaged in management training and education for the private and public sectors. CCES is the world’s first and leading training and educational institute specialising in customs.

“We are extremely happy to be the first customs administration in the world to venture into capacity building program of this magnitude. We know that both PIM and CCES are the best of the best in their respective fields. I have no hesitation that through these postgraduate courses my staff will enhance their knowledge and skills which will ultimately enable the Department to provide a better service to all its stakeholders, the government, importers, exporters and the general public,” said Sarath Jayathilake, Director General, Sri Lanka Customs.

Dr. Uditha Liyanage, Director of PIM said, “We pioneered the MBA program in Sri Lanka, over two decades ago, and have now set up our International Centre in the Emirates. The launch of the Customs Management Program, marks another important step in our forward march towards improving the stock of managers in our country and in the region, as a whole”.