Lankan envoy to Brazil calls for greater support for developing countries

Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Brazil Sumith Dassanayake

Former President of Brazil Michel Temer

The inaugural session of the Global New Economy Forum was held virtually on 22 November in Brazil with the participation of over 150 experts, policy makers, business leaders, politicians and diplomats, etc.

The Global New Economy Forum is a Brazilian initiative which provides a new platform to bring together experts and policy makers in diverse fields to devise strategies to defuse negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to the global economy. 

Addressing the inaugural session of the Global New Economy Forum, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Brazil Sumith Dassanayake appealed to the developed countries and international lending agencies to extend financial and other assistance to developing countries such as Sri Lanka to recover devastated economies due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

The Ambassador also highlighted how Sri Lanka’s main sources of foreign exchange income, i.e. exports of apparels and agricultural products, tourism industry and foreign remittance, have been adversely affected since 2020.

Former President of Brazil Michel Temer highlighted the importance of taking joint efforts to fight against the pandemic.  

Governor of State of Amazonas Wilson Lima emphasised to initiate people centric approaches to mitigate the pandemic. Mayor of Manaus David Abisai and many other speakers felicitated the event. Over 35 Heads of Missions accredited to Brazil, including Ambassadors of China, Austria, Italy, Egypt, Russia and many South American countries addressed the session.