He said that the over 100 years’ experience and expertise that dairy farmers in New Zealand possessed would be shared with their Sri Lankan counterparts.
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In return Auckland Zoo will help with Sri Lanka’s management of its own elephant population, as well as help train Sri Lankan wildlife workers.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday said that his government will sign the proposed Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) with India by the middle of this year notwithstanding opposition from political parties and trade unions.
Master dairy trainers will be schooled by local experts as part of two projects aimed at boosting New Zealand’s involvement in Sri Lanka’s dairy industry.
Nandi has been raised in a herd of 93 elephants in a coconut grove at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of Colombo.
A spokeswoman for Auckland Zoo said on Thursday it was the “next step in a long-standing and carefully planned programme of co-operation between Auckland Zoo and Sri Lankan authorities”.
“We wrote three weeks ago asking the government to stop this practice”.
“There should be a stop to these knee-jerk gifts of baby elephants”, Gunawardana said. “I think they don’t even read our letters”.
“The Sri Lankan Government is making real progress as it undertakes a significant programme of post-war reconciliation and economic reform, and the opportunities for us to work more closely together are huge”, Mr Key says.
Auckland Zoo said there was a lot of routine testing over the next coming months that Nandi would have to go through – the same process Anjalee went through before her arrival.
Sri Lanka’s main stock index was 0.07 percent firmer at 6,222.03 at 0626 GMT.
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“She and Burma have developed a strong relationship of mutual support and playfulness, both showing evident signs of enjoying each other’s company immensely”.
