Commonwealth finance ministers meet in Colombo

The Commonwealth Finance Ministers meeting in Colombo will kick off on Tuesday bringing together ministers and delegates from 53 member states.

The 3- day meeting will see ministers explore “heterodox (orthodox) ways and means of promoting growth which generate livelihoods and reduce poverty, while discussing the need to give countries the opportunity to develop their own policies for economic progress rather than having prescriptive solutions imposed upon them”, according to a government statement.

Meanwhile, the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) is organising the Commonwealth- Sri Lanka Investment Roundtable on Tuesday. “The purpose of this event is to showcase Sri Lanka as a destination for investment to the large business contingent that will be accompanying the Finance Ministers of the member –states of the Commonwealth. The event will be a full day session that will be held at the Auditorium of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka,” a BOI media release said.

The participants will include senior state officials of the Commonwealth countries involved in investment –related activities and also leading personalities from the private sectors of both Sri Lanka and the member nations.

The session will be inaugurated by Prof. Lakshman R. Watawala, Chairman/ Director General of the BOI Gregor McKinnon, Director of Programmes of the Commonwealth Business Council. The Governor of the Central Bank, Ajith Nivard Cabraal will follow with a detailed expose on the Sri Lankan economy. This will be followed by a discussion where the visiting delegates will be able to exchange ideas on these issues. It said that the roundtables will cover some of the vital issues relating to investment, including a panel discussion on Corporate Governance and on the steps that nations need to take to build investor confidence.

A session is also planned to examine the modalities and conditions necessary for the Sri Lankan private sector to build ties with international business. Separately the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce is launching the Indo Lanka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ILCCI) on Wednesday at the Taj Samudra hotel. Indian Finance Minister P Chidambaram, attending the Commonwealth meeting. Is the chief guest at the event. The chamber enjoys a strategic partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), whilst also having close links with several Indian Business Chambers, including the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).