A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed this morning (15) at the Presidential Secretariat between STEMedical of the USA and the Sri Lanka Institute of Biotechnology (SLIBTEC) to establish a laboratory with internationally recognised accreditation.

The MoU for this $15 million investment project, conducted under the guidance of the National Initiative for Research and Development Commercialisation (NIRDC), was signed by Professor Hans Keirstead, founder of the American company STEMedical and on behalf of the Sri Lanka Institute of Biotechnology (SLIBTEC), by its Chairman, Professor Samitha Hettige and Chief Operating Officer, Amali Ranasinghe.

For a long time, there has been a need to enhance the capacity of laboratories with internationally recognised accreditation for testing purposes across many sectors in Sri Lanka, including health, agriculture, cosmetics and Ayurveda, as well as in the import and export fields.

Professor Gomika Udugamasooriya, Senior Presidential Advisor on Science and Technology, who attended the event, said that today is a special day for Sri Lanka and that accreditation is very important for a country. Prof. Udugamasooriya emphasised the significance of a laboratory project with such accreditation facilities in achieving the government’s objective of doubling the country’s export revenue by the year 2030.

This laboratory is expected to function as a main lab, working in conjunction with existing laboratories across the island, to ensure the quality of goods and services in various fields.

Professor Hans Keirstead, founder of STEMedical, stated that he is pleased with the current leadership in Sri Lanka, which he said has a broad vision for the scientific sector and has been able to identify developmental needs such as enhancing laboratory capacity. He also said that this project would bring many benefits to the country, not only clinically but also economically. Mr Keirstead further mentioned that it would attract the attention of economic experts and generate revenue by bringing items, such as medicines, from other countries to Sri Lanka for accreditation.

Professor Hans Keirstead, the founder of STEMedical in the United States, is an internationally recognised stem cell expert. He is also a respected entrepreneur in the field of regenerative medicine in the USA. It is also noteworthy that Professor Keirstead, who currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Human Immunome Project, is among the top 100 scientists in the world, as listed by Discover Magazine.

The President’s Senior Additional Secretary, Russel Aponsu; the Director-General of the National Initiative for Research and Development Commercialisation (NIRDC), Dr Muditha Senarath Yapa; and the Chief Executive Officer of STEMedical in the United States, Dr Nistor Gabriel Loan, also attended the event.

Service facilities, service periods, overtime allowances and provisions related to leave have been stipulated for shop and office employees by the Shop and Office Employees (Regulation of Employment and Remuneration) Act No. 19 of 1954 and has vested the subject Minister of Labour with powers to issue relevant orders by the said act.

According to the prevailing regulations, any female employee who has completed 18 years of age can be engaged in the duties of a receptionist of a hotel with accommodations, an attendant of a female coat room, an employee of a female garments room or an employee of a female washroom after 6.00 pm to 6.00 am.

However, it has been pointed out that numerous problematic situations have arose when maintaining operations, since services of  female stewardesses in hotels with accommodation facilities and restaurants can only be obtained up to 10.00 pm.

Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the proposal submitted by the Minister of Labour to revise the regulation 3 issued under Shop and Office Employees (Regulation of Employment and Remuneration) Act No. 19 of 1954, so that the female employees who are above 18 years of age can engage in duties as food presenters / stewardesses after 6.00 pm to 6.00 am in hotels with residential facilities and in restaurants.

The Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports, and Civil Aviation for the procurement of five power sets.

The Sri Lanka Railway Department does not have a sufficient number of power sets to operate passenger trains in suburban areas. A minimum of 96 power sets are required to maintain uninterrupted service. Since most of the power sets currently in operation have been in service for over 20 years there are frequent interruptions and breakdowns resulting in great inconvenience to daily commuters.