Commonwealth Finance Ministers meeting

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka will host the annual meeting of Commonwealth Finance Ministers from September 12 to 14 at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo which will bring together ministers and delegates from 53 member countries.

One of the key sessions of the meeting, which takes place just before Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, will be on the theme 'An Agenda for Growth and Livelihoods'.

Ministers are expected to explore heterodox ways and means of promoting inclusive growth, which generates livelihoods and reduces poverty.

They will discuss the need to give countries the opportunity to develop their own policies for economic progress rather than having prescriptive solutions imposed upon them.

Participants will also discuss current trends in the world economy including high oil prices and how they can affect member countries; IMF World Bank issues; progress in implementing the debt write-off initiative and the special challenges facing small vulnerable economies.

The arena of international aid will also feature on the meeting's agenda with senior officials looking closely at the effectiveness of the current international aid architecture from the perspective of developing countries.