Poverty Alleviation Minister to attend world summit

Uditha Kumarasinghe

COLOMBO: Samurdhi and Poverty Alleviation Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi yesterday left for Canada to attend the World Micro Credit Finance Summit to be held in Halifax, Canada from November 12 to 15.

Representatives of micro-credit institutions from 54 countries which have undertaken programmes to uplift the economic and living conditions of low income segments will attend this summit, a Ministry spokesman told the Daily News yesterday.

Minister Wanniarachchi will deliver a special lecture at this summit on the Samurdhi Banking network, the major micro-credit institution in Sri Lanka which provides various loans to low income groups to uplift their socio-economic conditions.

The Minister will also explain the various programmes implemented by the Samurdhi movement to rid them from the poverty cycle.

The Minister undertook her visit on a directive of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, to explain the Samurdhi Micro-credit system to other countries.