BOC GM chairs the 73rd APRACA EXCOM Forum and 22nd General Assembly

Friday, 5 March 2021 01:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

BOC GM D.P.K. Gunasekara

The Asia Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association’s (APRACA) 73rd EXCOM and 22nd General Assembly meeting took place with the participation of 24 member countries from the Asia Pacific region. Indian Minister for Agricultural and Farming Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar addressed the forum as the key-note speaker and Bank of Ceylon’s (BOC) General Manager D.P.K. Gunasekera chaired the forum from 4 to 5 March.

APRACA is a non-government international organisation, involving central banks, agricultural and development banks, commercial banks, apex organisations, federations of financial institutions and rural development institutions in the region, who are involved directly in agricultural credit and rural development. Its headquarters are situated in Bangkok – Thailand.

APRACA’s 2021 EXCOM and the Regional Policy Meeting took place on a virtual space, discussing several key initiatives that affects the region on ‘Development Support to Promote Agribusiness clusters and Credit enhancement’.

Taking an inherent keen interest to promote financial inclusion in the country through contributing to develop the MSME sector with a special focus on rural and agricultural-based businesses, BOC made a significant contribution to the successful implementation of initiatives decided on the forum, by supporting the APRACA platform to guide members of Asia-Pacific region to develop innovative strategies to ensure financial stability and fiscal sustainability.