Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2007 to focus on agriculture, apparels

SUMMIT: The Sri Lanka Economic Summit takes place from June 6 to 8, 2007 at Oak Room, Cinnamon Grand, Colombo.

Organized by The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Board of Investment, this initiative is supported by the SAARC and Trade Promotion projects, implemented jointly by CCC and the German Technical Co-operation (GTZ) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development (BMZ).

Chaired by Director-John Keells Holdings Sumithra Gunasekera, the focus session on Agriculture would bring together several significant speakers to share their experiences and views with regard to agro enterprise.

The session on ‘Agro Enterprise’ is intended to create awareness on the potential for development of the Agro sector in Sri Lanka by highlighting on avenues to add value, improve productivity and enhance exports.

The session is also expected to rouse new ideas on the type of initiatives that can be taken by the private sector in the light of international experiences and taking lessons from them.

Chairman CIC Ltd B. R. L. Fernando (“Agro Enterprise Development: Private Sector’s Role”), Deputy Chairman, Cargills Ceylon Ltd Ranjith Page (“Linking the Producers with the Market”), Director, MAS Tropical Food Processing (Pvt) Ltd Mario De Alwis (“Agri Food Supply Chains and Possible Private Sector Initiatives”), Mission Director, USAID Rebecca Cohn (“Lessons from International Experiences”) and Secretary-Ministry of Trade Marketing Development, Co-operatives and Consumer Services Dr. R. M. K. Ratnayake (“Regional Distribution of Agro Products”) are the speakers featured at this session. This would be followed by a panel discussion with representatives of various agricultural sectors.

The session on apparels is intended to map out the direction for the private sector in apparel sector development.