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Minister of Enterprise Development, Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion, Minister of Constitutional Affairs G.L. Peiris, was the Chief Guest at the Diploma Awards Ceremony 2003 of the National Institute of Business Management held on July 21.

Nearly 127 senior and middle level managers drawn from various management, specialisms namely Marketing Management, Industrial Engineering, Business Management, Personnel Management, Service Marketing. 256 Information Technology Professionals who have successfully completed the prestigious one year NIBM, Computer Systems Design Course and 106 computer professionals who completed the Higher Diplomas in Computer Based Information Systems received their Diploma Awards at this ceremony, from Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris and Secretary to the Ministry, Ranjith Fernando. The welcome speech was delivered by Thusantha Wijemanna, Chairman, NIBM.

Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris said:

Bushiness, said the Minister, will thrive and development made feasible and productive only if there is stability and contentment in the country. There is now a mood of expectancy and hope and it's possible to make the optimum use of opportunities around. The Minister referred to the opening talks with the LTTE is Sattahip, Thailand where he quoted Shakespeare - "There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken as a flood leads on to fortune". This means the type of country we are going to hand down to the younger generation depends on the caliber of the decision of those at the helm of public affairs made in the interest of Sri Lanka. The courses celebrated at this moment reflect the human spirit, the amplitude of opportunity which result in a demand for courses offered by the NIBM.

All this is possible because there is a mood of buoyancy and expectation. In Davos, Switzerland, said the Minister, he encountered a degree of interest as never before among the largest companies in the world. Talking of the advantages Sri Lanka is geographically very well located, which is the fact that attracted many a nation. This made it possible for the government to conclude at FTA with India. Sri Lanka is seen as a geteway to the markets of the entire SAARC region. Another factor which contributes is the high literacy rate. However, one thing that held us back is the violence in the country. We should all understand that a war which has been going on for 20 years cannot be brought to a halt over night. It would definitely have its complexities and problems.

USD4.5 billion has been pledged to Sri Lanka by Tokyo Conference, the largest conference ever been held for Sri Lanka in the history. Fifty one sovereign nations and 21 multilateral institutions attended proceedings in Tokyo. The outcome is that all these resources are at our disposal. The Prime Minster is chairing a committee to make certain that these resources will be deployed efficiently and swiftly. There will be sharp focus on infrastructure development. All these means job creation and circulation of money with more and more large companies coming in to engage in business activities.

There is a radical transformation of our national circumstances. Against this background, the students have chosen these courses to benefit themselves and the societies as well, to which they belong.

The Minister expressed the gratitude of the Ministry on the work and contribution by the NIBM, to the well being of the country. A catalyst for entrepreneurial renaissance, NIBM is transforming attitudes and bringing opportunity within reach of ever expanding segments of the Sri Lankan community. The Minister urged the NIBM to take its programme to the villages of Sri Lanka, which would reduce the gulf between the rural and the urban sectors of the country.

The Minister as an educationist, and as former Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo, expressed that he knows of instances where our rural students have been no second to the best students of well-known educational institutes overseas. What is lacking, said he, is the access to opportunity. Having been successful in giving quality services in the past the NIBM, according to the Minister, should take up the challenge to expand its courses to the rural sector as well.

The NIBM for the first time, awarded a Gold Medal to its best student Baghya Sanjeevani Abeywickreme, awarded by the Prof. G.L. Peiris.

Present at this event were Ranjith Fernando-Secretary to the Ministry, Chairmen and Officers of other institutions, students and parents.

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