The ‘Centre for Indo-Lanka Initiatives’ of the Pathfinder Foundation, in partnership with New Delhi based Carnegie India and Vivekananda International Foundation conducted a conference aimed at enhancing connectivity between India and Sri Lanka on April 28 in Colombo.

Pathfinder Foundation convened 'Trincomalee Consultations', a two-day conference participated by countries in the Bay of Bengal, which are dependent on the bay for their trade and other interactions. The conference was attended by India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka. Japan and Norway also took part in the deliberations which were held in Cinnamon Grand, Colombo on 16 and 17 February 2017.

The Pathfinder Foundation conducted a video conference with the participation of senior Fellows of the Heritage Foundation to discuss the likely changes under the new US administration and their impact on US - Sri Lanka bilateral relations.

The Second Symposium on the Maritime Silk Road and China-Sri Lanka Relations was held in Shanghai, China from 11th -13 July. The Chinese Embassy in Colombo made the logistical arrangements in support of the symposium, jointly  organized by the Shanghai Institutes for International Relations (SIIS) and the Pathfinder Foundation (PF).  The symposium consisted of two segments, an academic conference and a business roundtable, thereby providing an overview of the political economy landscape and prospects for business collaboration available to both sides.  Hon. Sujeewa Senasinghe, State Minister of International Trade participated in the three day Track II symposium, delivering providing a keynote address, explaining the policies of the new government and responding to questions posed by Chinese scholars and representatives of leading Chinese business conglomerates, who are either already present in Sri Lanka or planning to make large scale investments in the island.

The Embassy of Korea partnering with the Pathfinder Foundation organised a seminar on Strangthening of state-to-state and business-to-business economic cooperation betwen the Republic of Korea and Sri Lanka.. This event was held on the 21st of December at the Cinnamon Grand, Colombo. The key note speaker at this seminar was Dr. Yoocheul Song, Senior Research Fellow at Centre for International Economic Studies, Seoul and Professor at Dongduk Women's University. His analysis was based on economic modelling to ascertain the feasibility of entering into a free trade arrangement between the two countries.

The Pathfinder Foundation (PF) launched the Centre for Indo-Lanka Initiatives the PF office premises at a ceremony officiated by Indian High Commissioner Yash Sinha and PF Founder Milinda Moragoda. A visiting delegation from the Pathfinder Foundation’s Indian Track-2 Partner, Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), also participated at the opening.

Sri Lankan delegation left to Shanghai China for Sri Lanka-China track II initiative on Maritime Silk Route on 4th November 2015. The Sri Lankan group included team leader Bernard Goonetilleke, Shirantha Herath, (Chairman, Southern Development Authority), Prof. Rohan Samarajiva, Admiral (Retired) Dr. Jayanath Colombage, Dr. Rohan Fernando, Dr. Janaka Wijayasiri, Dr. O.G. Dayaratna-Banda, Subram Ramaswamy, Niro Cooke, Ruan Samarasinghe, Ibrahim Saleem, Ayanthi Fernando and Luxman Siriwardena, Executive Director, Pathfinder Foundation. The business delegation joined the Track II team represented Aitken Spence PLC, Hayley’s Advantis Ltd., Hatton National Bank, Kings Investments etc., and they met with Chinese investors having interest in Sri Lanka.

The Pathfinder Foundation (PF) unveiled the ‘China – Sri Lanka Cooperation Studies Centre’ on the 22nd of October, 2015, by the Chinese Ambassador H.E. Yi Xianliang and the PF Founder, Mr. Milinda Moragoda. The main objective of the Centre is to promote conduct of analytical studies, exchange of experiences and ideas, facilitation of business–to–business and people-to-people relations.

Pathfinder Foundation launched of the publication of: IDENTITY POLITICS AND STATE-BUILDING IN SRI LANKA: Understanding Ethno-nationalist Mobilizations in a Postcolonial State in Transition. An edited volume published by the Center for the Study of Human Rights of the Colombia University in collaboration with Pathfinder Foundation. The ceremony was held on 28th May, 2015.

"The Pathfinder Foundation (PF), an independent research and advocacy think-tank is a long-standing proponent of prudent policy-making in Sri Lanka and has been consistently advocating that all political parties should focus on economic reforms to accelerate economic growth and development. In order to better facilitate this process, the PF commissioned a series of studies on key policy areas which will be important determinants of a successful transition of the Sri Lankan economy to a sustained high growth path. This process has produced a Blueprint on economic reforms titled ‘Charting the way forward: Prosperity for all,’ in all three languages. This document presented to the leaderships of all the major political parties.

The Pathfinder Foundation (PF) and the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) organised a high-level seminar on cooperation between Sri Lanka and China to advance the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR) initiative in Colombo on 21st November 2014.

A visiting delegation from China’s top rank think-tank Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS) had discussions with the Founder of the Pathfinder Foundation (PF) Mr. Milinda Moragoda and its senior officials on collaborative research and studies in areas such as realizing the economic benefits of the Maritime Silk Road initiative and strengthening the capacity of PF on strategic studies. The meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Milinda Moragoda, Founder of the PF and Dr. Yang Jiemian, Senior Fellow of the SIIS. Among the participants from the Chinese side was H.E. Ambassador Wu Jianghao, Dr. Zhou Shixin, Research Fellow at the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies Centre for Asia – Pacific Studies, Dr. Chen Youjun from the Institute for World Economy Studies, Mr. Wang Lei, Executive Director of the Institute for Comparative Politics and Public Policy and Dr. Xue Chen, Research Fellow, Institute for International Strategic Studies as well as the Centre for Maritime & Polar Region Studies. The PF representation consisted of Mr. Bernard Goonetilleke, Chairman, Mr. M D D Pieris, Director, Prof. Sirimal Abeyratne, Senior Fellow, Mr. Luxman Siriwardena, Executive Director and Ms. Ameera Arooz, Project Manager.