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Inaugural meeting at GFH on July 28 :
SAARC Chamber to deliberate on regional connectivity
Ravi Ladduwahetty
The issues relating to the promotion and development of aviation and
maritime, rail and road transport within the South Asian region will get
top billing when the SAARC Chamber of Commerce of Industry (SCCI)
deliberates under the theme: “Regional connectivity in South Asia:
prospect for cooperation in transport and communication” at its
inaugural parley at the Galle Face Hotel on July 28.
The event, has been jointly organised with the SAARC Chamber of
Commerce and Industry and the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and
Industry of Sri Lanka.
Maldivian Transport and Commerce Minister Adhil Saleem will address
the seminar on experimenting ferry services in South Asia. SCCI Vice
President for Nepal Pradeep Kumar Surestha will address the seminar on
“Rail and road networking: Developments in the previous decade and
future options” Participants will also meet the members of the Sri Lanka
Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Aviation at an informal meeting,
which will also be the first time that the SAARC Chamber will meet the
local politicians associated with not only in the aviation sectors, but
any sector.
“The one day seminar, the first of its kind, will see that there will
be the promotion of maritime, air, road and rail connectivity and
network linkages within the region and the parley will be especially of
vital significant in the context of Sri Lanka emerging as the maritime
and aviation hubs in the region, SCCI Vice President for Sri Lanka,
Kosala Wickremanayake told Daily News Business yesterday.
“One of the priority areas of the seminar will be the promotion of
ferry services, luxury passenger cruises in the context of Mahinda
Chintana “Idiri Dakma” by President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s vision for a
Aviation and Marine hub in Sri Lanka and the seminar will also
deliberate on the promotion of additional ferry services from Colombo to
other Indian destinations and Maldives,” he said.
The eight- nation regional parley will also deliberate how the
current Colombo- Rameswaran ferry service could also be extended to
Mannar- Rameswaran while also exploring the services between Colombo and
other Indian ports such as Mumbai and Cochin. He also said that the
parley will deliberate on making the Mattala airport as air cargo
logistics destination immediately following the launch of the first
phase in 2012.
Also getting special consideration will be the promotion of the
intra-regional travel within the SAARC region and Sri Lanka is 2.5
Million by 2015.
Also on the cards will be Sri Lanka being promoted as a MICE
(Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) destination.
Minister of AviationPriyankara Jayaratne will be the Chief Guest.
Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, will also attend the occasion.
Any person or institutions interested in these events could get more
information from [email protected]
[email protected] |
