19 – 31 August 2023 sports teams from Sri Lankan Universities took part in the University International Sports Festival in Yekaterinburg, Russia, with participation of the teams from the BRICS countries, Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states and CIS countries.

The Festival is a large-scale celebration of youth and sports, which attracted representatives from 127 Universities from 36 countries including Argentine, Bangladesh, Cuba, Brazil, India, China and other countries and 158 Universities from 60 regions of Russia.
Sri Lanka is represented at the event by the University of Vavuniya, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University and Rajarata University of Sri Lanka. More than 70 Sri Lankan students represented badminton, tennis, table tennis, volleyball, swimming and boxing teams.
Participation in the Festival gave Sri Lankan students an invaluable opportunity for international exposure, experience of participation in a multicultural event, a chance to feel the Russian culture and history, as well as a possibility to build links with the fellow foreign students.
In the framework of the visit the delegation of the University of Vavuniya headed by Dr.Ravinthirakumaran Navaratnam, Director/International Division, also conducted meetings with the Ural State Federal University and the Ural State University of Economics. The sides discussed cooperation via exchange programmes for students and professors, conducting guest online lectures, scientific and research projects, etc.