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Rohitha leads 30 member team to boost Indo Lanka ties
Saturday, 26 November 2005 - 2:37 AM SL Time
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Highlighting the new Government`s priority to promote investments in Sri Lanka, Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion, Rohitha Bogollagama will lead a high-powered, 30-member delegation from the public and private sector, to the 21st India Economic Summit 2005 at New Delhi, from November 26-29, 2005.
Mr. Bogollagama will be the first Cabinet Minister of the new Government to go abroad on a promotional mission.
The Minister is also expected to meet India`s Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath, during the visit. Minister Bogollagama`s Economic Advisor Prof. Lakshman R. Watawala and Ministry Secretary Lal Kumara Gamage will be associated with the Minister.
As a proactive move Sri Lanka will host the opening night`s reception on November 26 on the theme `Sri Lanka: A great place to work. A great place to live.` The evening, featuring a medley of Sri Lankan dance and cuisine, will be sponsored by the Board of Investment, Sri Lanka, SriLankan Airlines and Sri Lanka Tourist Board and will include an address by Mr. Bogollagama.
Further, at a special luncheon session on Tuesday, November 29, 2005, the summit will dedicate two and a half hours to the promotion of Sri Lanka. With the theme `Sri Lanka: A business perspective`, the session will have key Government officials and private sector leaders from Sri Lanka discussing business and investment prospects in the island.
This is of particular significance as India and Sri Lanka have completed the fifth year of Indo-Lanka FTA. Special focus will be on the business opportunities created by the GSP+ tariff concession granted to Sri Lanka by the EU this year that allows for over 7000 items to be exported duty-free to the EU. Sri Lanka is also targeting over one million tourist arrivals by 2010 by actively promoting foreign investment in tourism infrastructure. The Government is also providing the highest attention to the IT sector by promoting the location to BPOs to make use of its skilled professionals.
During the luncheon session presentations will be made by members of the Sri Lankan delegation, on the country`s future and how international business and industry can benefit by investing in Sri Lanka`s growth sectors. These include introductory remarks from the session chairman, Mahendra Dayananda, Vice-Chairman, The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, `Sri Lanka: A great place to invest` by Duminda Aryasinghe, Deputy Director General ' Marketing, Board of Investment, Sri Lanka, `Sri Lanka`s Tourism: The right investment` by Udaya Nanayakkara, Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourist Board, `Indian Investments` by Ms. Nirupama Rao, High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka and `An investor perspective` by Peter Hill, CEO, Sri Lanka Airlines
Key members of the Sri Lankan delegation to the India Economic Summit will include Micky Wickremasinghe, Chairman, Ceylon Biscuits Ltd., Tilak De Soysa, Deputy Chairman, AMW Ltd., Mahen Dayananda, Chairman, Tea Tang Ltd., Mano Selvanathan, Chairman, Sri Krishna Corporation, J. D. Bandaranaike, Managing Director, Ceylon Tobacco Company and Shamil Mendis, Director, Delmege Group, JKH Finance Director Ronnie Peries.
Since 1986, the World Economic Forum and the Confederation of Indian Industry have held an annual summit in India. The theme for this year`s summit, to be attended by the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh and the Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, will be `A young & resurgent India ' its impact on regional and global strategies`.
The summit has been acknowledged as a premier gathering of business luminaries and includes 500 senior business leaders from India and abroad, industry experts, foreign public personalities, members of the Government and senior officials.
Apart from exploring the emerging opportunities, changing dynamics and growth challenges facing India, this year`s summit will also look at how regional relations, trade and investment flows will evolve in this new context. Through expert briefings and interactive sessions, the summit will provide an insight into the future pace and profile of India`s transformation and its impact on regional economies and major industries.
Manmohan Singh to open 21st India Economic Summit
New Delhi' Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will address the 21st India Economic Summit to be held in New Delhi from 27 to 29 November. The Prime Minister will be speaking at the valedictory session of the annual event, which is jointly hosted by the World Economic Forum and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The Summit will bring together participants from 200 companies and organizations from 33 countries. It will provide a platform to address and assess the unique growth experience of India under the theme, A Young and Resurgent India: Its Impact on Regional and Global Strategies.
The Finance Minister, Palaniappan Chidambaram, is inaugurating the Summit on 27 November. Minister of Commerce Kamal Nath will address the session on India: The New Paradigm. Other prominent speakers from India include: Sharad Chandra Pawar, Minister of Agriculture; Mani Shankar Aiyar, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas; Kapil Sibal, Minister of Science and Technology; Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of the National Capital Territory of Delhi; Oommen Chandy, Chief Minister of Kerala; Vasundhara Raje, Chief Minister of Rajasthan; and Montek S. Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission.
In his welcoming remarks, Yogesh C. Deveshwar, President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII); Chairman, ITC, India, said, `The India Economic Summit 2005 marks the commencement of the third decade of partnership between the World Economic Forum and the Confederation of Indian Industry and is a testimony to the growing world confidence in India.`
`The perception about India has changed dramatically among the investing community. What were considered weaknesses in the past have now turned into competitive advantages such as the democratic system and a very young population,` said Colette Mathur, Director for India, World Economic Forum.
From overseas, leading participants include: Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Geneva; Gianni de Michelis, Member of the European Parliament, Brussels; Jean-Daniel Gerber, State Secretary for Economic Affairs of Switzerland; Lord Diljit Rana, Member of the House of Lords, United Kingdom; and Bamba Mamadou, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Côte d`Ivoire. As in other years, the Summit will be framed by interactive sessions and panel discussions. Participants will analyse the current environment, emerging opportunities and challenges. The role of India within the global regime will be examined through sessions on India and the World, and on USA, Pakistan and Sri Lanka . Innovation, knowledge and capacity will be addressed in sessions on ICT, the knowledge economy and the talent pyramid. Infrastructure, such as civil aviation, energy and SEZs, as well as social issues, such as the environment, gender and health, are also part of the comprehensive programme. Parallel sessions will debate topics such as water, health, the Young Global Leaders` Environment Task Force and public-private partnerships in education.
The Summit will be co-chaired by Jim Goodnight, Chief Executive Officer, SAS, USA; Hans-Joachim Koerber, Chief Executive Officer, Metro, Germany; Nandan M. Nilekani, President, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Infosys Technologies, India; and Sir Martin Sorrell, Group Chief Executive, WPP, United Kingdom.
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