Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, the Minister of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine together with Mrs. Irmtraut Gürkan, Administrative Director and Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Heidelberg University Hospital, following their discussions agreed to sign an agreement with the intention of developing collaborative programs in the field of medicine, especially in the field of cancer research and training.

The National Center for Tumor Diseases NCT of the Heidelberg University is an international leader in cancer diagnosis and treatment and has a strong focus on improving cancer care by intensive clinical research activities. The initiative taken up by the two parties is expected to open up new avenues for cancer research and training, and it is believed that Sri Lanka would benefit through enhancing the level of cancer care to Sri Lankan patients by promoting expert exchange of Sri Lankan oncologists with advanced international oncology centers.

Apart from signing of the agreement, the Medical Faculty of Heidelberg University held several other meetings between Dr. Rajitha Senaratne and senior medical professionals of the Heidelberg University, Medical Faculty.

Dr. Senaratne attended this event on the sidelines of the Second Global Ministerial Summit on Patient Safety which was held from 29th -30th  March 2017 in Bonn, Germany.