Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation forum on April 26
The mega forum, ‘Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation: Making Cross - Border Trade Easier for Sri Lankan Business’, organised by the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation and International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka (ICCSL), will be inaugurated under the aegis of Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen on April 26, 2017, at Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo.
The event, facilitated by the ICCSL with the representatives from the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, is designed to bring together business leaders, key implementing agencies and international experts.
The forum will include short, trade related speeches – one on ‘Private Sector’s Role in Trade Facilitation’ and another on ‘Sri Lanka’s Potential to Boost Trade with Private Sector Leadership’ – by two eminent foreign speakers with experience from the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation and from the private sector.
The speech on ‘Private Sector’s Role in Trade Facilitation’ will be delivered by Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation Trade Expert and Senior Advisor Eric T. Miller.
Bathiudeen will deliver the keynote speech at the forum.
Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation Vice President and ICC Head Customs and Trade Facilitation Donia Hammami will grace the event as the guest of honour.
ICCSL Chairman Keerthi Gunawardane, who will moderate the panel discussion and open forum, said the attending business experts will highlight on the unique opportunities of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), which will bring in all relevant stakeholders together for effective and commercially meaningful trade facilitation reforms.
“Swift implementation of the TFA will make it hassle free and less costly for the members of the Sri Lankan business community to engage in cross border trade leading to inclusive growth, sustainable development and increased government revenue,” Gunawardane elaborated.
The TFA of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) provides a unique opportunity to promote inclusive growth by making cross-border trade easier, quicker and less costly for businesses of all sizes.
The speakers at the forum will provide perspectives on the importance of TFA implementation to support economic growth, investment and the empowerment of small and medium-sized enterprises.
The Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, which is co-organising the event, is an innovative public private partnership between the World Economic Forum, International Chamber of Commerce, Centre for International Private Enterprise and Governments of Australia, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and United States.
It aims to advance effective implementation of the TFA with the objective of creating opportunities for broad based economic growth.
The forum will be commenced at the Cinnamon Grand Oak Room, at 9:30 a.m. The registration will commence at 9:15 a.m. with a networking session.
ICCSL Chairman Keerthi Gunawardane requested the members of the business community and all those who are interested in taking part in this inclusive and informative forum on TFA to contact the organisers at earliest.
“There will be a few seats available for the public who are interested in trade to participate in the forum. However, they will be selected on a first-comefirst-served basis due to high demand and limited seating,” Gunawardane added.