Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Sri Lanka's General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to facilitate academic cooperation between the two institutions.

The MoU was signed by CSU Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Andrew Vann and the Vice-Chancellor of KDU, Major General Milinda Peiris, at a ceremony at the Sri Lanka Consulate in Sydney on Tuesday 5 August.

Professor Vann said that the collaboration provides an ideal opportunity to take Australian higher education to the Asian region, initially by offering specialised programs in customs and border management through the CSU Centre for Customs and Excise Studies which are accredited by the World Customs Organization.

Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to Australia Admiral TSG Samarasinghe, who has played an active role in the negotiations between the two universities, noted that the collaboration will enhance Sri Lanka's vision of establishing itself as a knowledge hub in the Asian region. He identified CSU as the partner of choice as it is both a leading university in distance education and the world's largest provider of university education in law enforcement, counter-terrorism, emergency management, customs and border security.Present at the event were Mr Bandula Jayasekera, Sri Lanka Consul General for New South Wales and Queensland, Professor David Widdowson, Head of CSU's Centre for Customs and Excise Studies, and staff from both universities.