Asia cannot prosper alone without South Asia : SAARC CCI President Ruwan Edirisinghe

SAAR CCI leadership with The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) President Rifat Hisarciklioglu and EUROCHAMBRES CEO Arnaldo Abruzzini 

SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SAARC CCI) President Ruwan Edirisinghe led a businessmen delegation to participate in the 32nd edition of Confederation of Asia Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Asia-Pacific Region (CACCI) summit titled ‘Asia: Expanding Borders’, held in Istanbul, Turkey. The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) hosted the summit. 

SAARC CCI (Nepal) Vice President Chandi Raj Dhakal, Executive Member (Nepal) Desh Bhandu Basnet and SAARC CCI Deputy Secretary General Zulfiqar Butt, were part of the delegation.

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay, Turkish Trade Minister, was the Chief Guest at the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote address. SAARC CCI President Ruwan Edirisinghe was keynote speaker in the session titled ‘Regional Integration and Connectivity for Sustainable Development’. Earlier, SAARC CCI (Nepal) Vice President Chandi Raj Dhakal addressed the session on tourism. 

While addressing the august gathering, Edirisinghe said that this century belongs to Asia and Asia cannot prosper without development in South Asia. South Asia represents one-fifth of the world market and untapped market for investment and business ventures. He invited the investors to explore the business opportunities of South Asia and strengthen ties. Earlier he also addressed the dinner gathering of the 32nd CACCI meeting. 

The SAARC CCI leadership also holds meetings with The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) President Rifat Hisarciklioglu, and EUROCHAMBRES CEO Arnaldo Abruzzini, on the way forward for a mutually beneficial cooperation. The idea of holding a joint session of SAARC CCI and ECO meeting was also discussed in length. 

During the last section of the 32nd CACCI summit, the 90th Council meeting took place chaired by Samir Modi, who took over from JemalInaishvili as President of CACCI. TOBB President Rifat Hisarcıklıolu, and Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI) CEO and SRCIC Vice Chair Oyunchimeg Magvan, were re-elected as CACCI Vice Chairs.

In the, ‘Local Chamber Awards’, competition organised by the CACCI, the Aegean Chamber of Industry was named the Best Chamber of Asia-Pacific.

Leaders of commercial chambers and associations from Turkey, Australia, Georgia, Russia, Bangladesh, India, Iran, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka attended the conference, discussing the development opportunity between public and private sectors in Asia-Pacific Region, and cooperation in trade, industry, economy and other areas.

CACCI is a non-governmental regional grouping of apex national chambers and business enterprise in Asia Pacific and the Western Pacific. The CACCI annual conference attracts industry leaders from across Asia-Pacific countries and serves as an important platform to discuss and deliberate upon key economic issues impacting global businesses.