ADB to finance Lanka’s trade facilitation upgrade
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Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry and Commerce in
discussion with Rita O'Sullivan, Country Director of Asian
Development Bank - Sri Lanka Resident Mission (ADB-SLRM) at APTF
Forum held at Hotel Galadari, Colombo
recently.
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ADB is to finance Sri Lanka’s trade facilitation upgrade by
committing almost 20 % of its global trade facilitation budget solely to
Sri Lanka. “As of end of 2011, ADB assisted Sri Lanka’s Industry with
more than $ 243 million and for trade, $ 555 million from Y2008. Also,
ADB’s assistance scheme using our banking sector is a model to be
adopted in our industries.
“We thank ADB for their valuable partnership support in Sri Lanka’s
new growth phase not only for infrastructure, industry sectors but even
for trade facilitation,” said Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry
and Commerce recently. Minister Bathiudeen expressed these views after
his meeting with Rita O'Sullivan, Country Director of Asian Development
Bank (ADB) Sri Lanka Resident Mission (SLRM) recently.
The meeting took place during the side-lines of the morning inaugural
event of Asia Pacific Trade Facilitation Forum 2012 (APTFF) on October
30 at Galadari Hotel, Colombo.
The first ever APTFF forum in Colombo to be held, was based on the
theme ‘Enhancing public-private collaboration for trade facilitation,
paperless trade and cross-border connectivity.’
The event, conducted by Ministry of Industry and Commerce and
co-hosted with the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC), United Nations
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and
the Asian Development Bank (ADB) saw delegates not only from Asia and
the Pacific but even from African (Kenya), Central Asia (Tajikistan) and
the Caribbean (Republic of Trinidad and Tobago) regions taking part. |
