Manel de SilvaFeeding the world
The Economist newspaper organised an international conference in early February on a subject which should be of interest to developing countries such as Sri Lanka. The subject of the conference was ‘Feeding the World’.
The Rio+20 Conference
The Rio+20 Conference to mark the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) is due to take place in June this year.
New external trade policy
Hopes of improving multilateral trade through t
he Doha Development Agenda of the WTO are fast fading. Over 10 years of negotiations, negotiators have not been able to find common ground for the most important issues on the table.
WTO ministerial meeting
Mid-December 2011 saw the eighth WTO ministerial conference coming to an end with no end in sight for the conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda.
However, it was also a historic meeting in that Russia, Samoa and Monte Negro were formally accepted to the WTO and for the clinching of a 42-country deal that would liberalise billions of dollars in public contracts.
Hope for SAFTA
Yet another SAARC Summit came and went. As usual, many were the declarations at the end of the Summit. Reference to trade in the final declaration was as follows:
Recognising the importance of the full implementation of SAFTA as a measure towards the creation of an enabling economic environment in the region:
Trade protectionism among G20 members
The Group of 20 heads of state met in France in early November launching an annual group meeting of the heads of State. The G20 is made up of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the EU, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, UK and the US.
Green economy and impact on trade
The RIO+20 Conference organised by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, marking its 20th anniversary, will take place in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012.
The conference’s objective is to secure renewed commitment for sustainable development and meet new and emerging challenges by focusing on two themes: the green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication; and the institutional framework for sustainable development.
Trade with Viet Nam
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The recent State visit by the President of Viet Nam also saw the establishment of the Viet Nam-Sri Lanka Business Forum. The establishment of such a forum is opportune as Viet Nam is recognised as an emerging economy.
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
The controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which is a multi-country intellectual property trade agreement, the negotiations of which have been ongoing since 2006 was signed on 1 October by eight countries.
The signatories were Australia, Canada, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the US. While the fact that some important countries have signed the agreement means that the pact might come into force sometime in the future, at least six parties must ratify it to become binding.
Export promotion strategies
Much media coverage is given to the tourism development promotional strategies that are intended to be carried out in the immediate future in order to increase revenue from tourism. Is the same coverage given to export promotion strategies which are equally important?There is no doubt about the ambitious plans to increase exports from Sri Lanka. These need to be inclusive of the people who are not only exporters today, but also of those who would be exporters of tomorrow by highlighting through media, creating the same awareness of the importance of the sector as in the case of tourism.
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