Sri Lanka hosts International forum on investment negotiations

Minister Malik Samarawickrama with Team Leader, Group Director, Economic Law and Policy IISD, Natalia Bernasconi 

Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama welcomed the participants of the 10th Annual Forum of Development Countries Investments Negotiations, which was organised by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the South Center and co-hosted by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade and the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI).

Samarawickrama stated that he was proud and grateful to the organisers for having selected Sri Lanka as the venue for the annual forum.

In his address, Minister Samarawickrama said that Sri Lanka, and particularly the BOI, recognised the very important role that investment had to play in developing the economies of Asian countries.  

For this reason the Sri Lankan Government had identified the attraction of FDI as one of its key policies in bringing about the rapid development within the country.

One vital element in the process for attracting investment was creating strong economic bonds between all countries by entering into investment agreements at the intraregional level.  This can be achieved by developing the necessary capabilities for negotiators to initiate discussions at the bilateral, regional and multilateral level.

As far as Sri Lanka is concerned, this forum will prove to be very useful as the country is engaged in the process of negotiating FTAs with several key partners in the Asian region such as China and Singapore.

The forum is very much an international event, with over 50 countries represented and therefore it serves as an excellent platform where delegates with vast knowledge and experience can share ideas in many areas relating to investment negotiations.

The Minister therefore concluded that the forum offers considerable potential for capacity building, networking and the exchange of ideas and experiences.

Finally, Minister Samarawickrama elaborated on some of the many improvements that have taken place in Sri Lanka which international participants will be able to witness during their visit to the country.  These included the rapid developments taking place in Colombo and large-scale development projects.

He added that along with this development, Sri Lanka continues to be an island paradise with rich cultural heritage and natural beauty.