CB growth figs under fire

The Central Bank statistics on growth came under fire by none other than the Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva who said he does not ‘believe’ in the statistics of the regulator.“I do not believe in the statistics of the Central Bank saying that the highest growth was registered, because as I always say – cancer also grows,” he said, addressing a gathering at the launch of the Sri Lanka Law College’s international trade law conference to be held from July 30 to August 1 in Colombo titled “The Doha Development Agenda and the Future of the Multilateral Trading System”.

Chief Justice Silva highlighted the importance of mastering the rules and regulations of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and striving to obtain the best advantage for the country. “We need to develop our expertise to get the best advantage for the country.
It is also important not to be insular or an island unto yourself,” he said, adding that in international trade there is an urgent need to be open-minded.

He said that such a conference will aim at building awareness amongst stakeholders on the issues arising within the framework of the WTO and providing a forum for critical discussion of the issues from different perspectives. The Law College in a bid to build capacity on international trade law in Sri Lanka, has invited several renowned experts from the United States, European Union, India and Sri Lanka comprising policymakers, academics and professionals who are due to present papers on areas such as Trade in Agricultural Products, Trade in Non- Agricultural Products, Trade in Services with the focus on telecommunications, banking and financial services, trade and Development, WTO and Regionalism, Dispute Settlement, Trade Environment and Sustainable Development and Future MTN Rounds: lessons learned fro the Uruguay Round and Doha Rounds.

Chairman Sri Lanka Telecom, Asoka Weerasinghe de Silva, said that a meeting which is also the first of its kind will help enlighten the trade practitioners. “Large population of the country is unaware of trade policies and their impact on one’s very livelihood.
This will be a great exercise which helps bring justice to our country in its international trade,” he said, adding that SLT – main sponsor of the event -- is fully supportive of the efforts of the Law College in building legal expertise in international trade.