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Tuesday, 19 November 2013 01:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Your Excellency President Mahinda Rajapaska, Minister G.L. Pieris, honourable ministers, your excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure for me to address you as Chairman of the Commonwealth Business Council.
Your Excellency, we are grateful to you for recognising the importance of the Business Forum as part of the overall CHOGM and the support that you have provided in making this event possible. The Business Forum has grown in every sense since our inaugural Forum in London as part of the Edinburgh CHOGM in 1997.
The Commonwealth Business Forum is the largest business event in the Commonwealth calendar, and is even more important because it is held at the time of the CHOGM which allows the top business leaders and the Heads of Government in the Commonwealth to interact and share ideas, strategies and policies as well as identify new opportunities in the Commonwealth countries. Over the years we have recognised that there are important shared interests between the Commonwealth countries which create vast potential to develop new markets.
Platform for Sri Lanka
This event will also provide a platform for Sri Lanka to showcase its business community to the world and the incredible opportunities whether it be textiles, port services, plantations, energy, ICT or professional services that are abound in every sector. I have no doubt that this event will lead to substantially increased investment in Sri Lanka. We have set ourselves an ambitious target for investment in Sri Lanka as a result of this event – and I am confident that this will be easily achieved.
I have been constantly astounded by how far Sri Lanka has come since the end of the conflict in this country. It is testament to the business leaders of this country, that Sri Lanka has not been left behind in any way during the so called Asian Growth Miracle – indeed in many ways Sri Lanka has been in the vanguard of development on the continent, and according to an international bank is likely to be the second-fastest growing economy in Asia.
Sri Lanka really does have it all and I encourage all our international visitors to take the opportunity to engage with the businesses in this country – both at this event and at the ‘Reflection of Sri Lanka’ trade and investment exhibition being held this week to which you will all have the opportunity to visit tomorrow evening.
Identifying investment opportunities
As you understand, Your Excellency, the Commonwealth will only survive if it is helping its members and citizens to find solutions to the big challenge of our times, the majority of which are currently questions of the economy and future prosperity.
The twists and turns of the financial crisis have confirmed that the global economy is complex and interlinked. Global finance, trade and investment bind nations together, for better or worse, and globalisation has neither been stopped nor even significantly slowed.
This Forum will therefore focus on a few key themes apart from identifying investment opportunities in Sri Lanka and other Commonwealth countries.
Inclusive growth
Achieving inclusive growth will be a key theme throughout this Forum whether it be in the context of rural development, education and training for disadvantaged communities and the long term unemployed or the development of small island states.
Achieving wealth creation and economic growth with equity is a challenge for every country. While globalisation has resulted in creation of wealth and unprecedented growth, it has created new problems of equity. This raises important issues regarding responsible capitalism and how private sector-led development can take place in an equitable, sustainable way so as to ensure that no-one nowhere is left behind.
Your Excellency, this is an issue close to your heart and we are looking forward to discovering more about how you and your Government are addressing the issue of sustainable growth in Sri Lanka.
Asia and Africa
This is the first time that the Commonwealth Business Forum has been held in Asia. Over the last two decades this is the continent, above anywhere else, which has proved that empowering the private sector is the key to creating development and prosperity. The forum will focus on learning from experiences in the Asian region including identifying new opportunities and partnerships in the Indian Ocean region, particularly in South Asian and South East Asian countries. Over the last two decades these have been the fastest growing regions in the world.
This Forum will also address the issues related to further strengthening of the growing Africa-Asia partnerships. Given the large number of business delegates from Africa and from Asia, it is important that this Forum assists in exploring new linkages and partnerships. A number of African business leaders are looking for opportunities in Asia and are also seeking expertise from Asia to develop new partnerships in their countries. Similarly, Asian businesses are now increasingly involved in business partnerships in Africa: with infrastructure development as a key priority.
Building entrepreneurship
Lastly, the Forum will also deliberate on issues related to building entrepreneurship and strengthening small and medium enterprises and explore ways of enhancing the value chain between large and small companies.
Whilst FDI has an important role to play in development and technology transfer, it is the strength of domestic investment and businesses which remains the true engine of development. We have made a special effort to ensure that a large number of small and medium enterprises have had the opportunity to attend this event in the hope that this Forum will benefit them by developing new networks and partnerships.
Transforming lives
The combined thrust of economic growth and democratic values in Commonwealth countries complements the argument made by Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz at the Commonwealth Business Forum held in Trinidad and Tobago in November 2009, regarding the three pillars of successful development strategy; markets, governments, and individuals.
He emphasised that development is about transforming the lives of people, not just about transforming economies. Policies need to be looked at based on how they promote growth and how they affect individuals directly. For this to happen, Stiglitz identified communities working together as the fourth pillar of successful development.
The Commonwealth offers such a community for the realisation of the ‘New World’ that Joseph Stiglitz says is necessary to make globalisation work for the many rather than the few.
Your Excellency, I hope that the deliberations in the Commonwealth Business Forum and CHOGM will provide some of the answers to these critical global issues.
Finally, Your Excellency, we hope that this Business Forum will provide a real and lasting impact on the economy of Sri Lanka and help you to achieve your vision of an even more prosperous and equitable nation, and a stronger Commonwealth.
Thank you for your attention.
