Trade facilitation should be addressed realistically - Minister Amunugama

Asia Pacific Trade Facilitation Forum:

"It is important for countries in the Asia Pacific region to address trade facilitation related issues in a realistic and a practical manner," pointed out Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Senior Minister, International Monetary Co-operation addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Asia Pacific Trade Facilitation Forum, (APTFF) 2012 yesterday.

Dr. Amunugama, Chief Guest at the event was the representative of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and welcomed the delegated from across the world to Sri Lanka and conveyed the best wishes of the President for this unprecedented event.

More than 190 delegates from the Asia Pacific region involved in trade facilitation were joined by around 100 Sri Lankan officials, business leaders and representatives from regional chambers at the inauguration ceremony held at Galadari hotel, Colombo this morning.

The event was co hosted by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) along with United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

A number of speakers pointed out that the event is held in Sri Lanka at an opportune time when the country is aiming to be a five pronged hub and they commended the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce for taking the lead along with ADB and UNESCAP to successfully secure the bid to hold this Forum in Sri Lanka.

Dr. Amunugama also noted that with the current economic situation in the United States and the Euro zone, Asian nations will not be able to expect a revival of trade relations to return to the way it was in the past, and therefore it is important for Asian nations to look at trade in a new light and promote intra regional trade.

He pointed out that though products from Asia had a reliable market in the United States and the Eurozone in the past couple of decades, now countries such as the USA are promoting their own products resulting in more competition for exports from Asia.

He also urged the participants from more than 30 countries to not only have a meaningful, practical and a realistic dialogue relating to trade facilitation but also to explore Sri Lanka during their visit to familiarize themselves with the diverse attractions in the country.

"Trade facilitation is an extremely important issue for Sri Lanka, given its small size, high dependence on international trade and its strategic geographical location," said Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry and Commerce addressing the gathering.

He went on to point out that even though Sri Lanka is a small country, it has been extremely active in developing as a commercial, logistics, naval and aviation hub of Asia and the world.

It was also pointed out at the event that trade facilitation is an extremely important mechanism for all countries, particularly for developing countries that are dependent on international trade for their economic development.

Ms. Rita O'Sullivan, Country Director of Asian Development Bank also addressed the gathering and spoke on a wide range of activities that the Asian Development Bank is involved in with their Asian partners to promote trade facilitation and cross border trade.

She mentioned that trade facilitation is one of the key focal areas of the ADB.