|
You're here: IPS Home > IPS News > News Archive Index > IPS News Archive :: June - January 2005
<< Back to News Archive Index
IPS News Archive :: January - June 2005
|
13-17 June, 2005
|
Poverty and Economic Policy (PEP) Research Network
Fourth General Meeting
Hotel Galadari, Colombo, Sri Lanka
|
The Fourth General Meeting of the Poverty and Economic Policy (PEP) Research Network organized by the IPS in collaboration with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada, Angelo King Institute, De La Salle University, Philippines, and the University of Laval, Canada was inaugurated on 13 June, 2005 at the Hotel Galadari, Colombo. Hon. Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Minister of Finance was the Chief Guest and Prof. Wishwa Warnapala, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs was the Guest of Honour at the inauguration of the conference.
|
|
Over 150 researchers from over 40 countries participated in this event. A number of papers on a wide range of topics related to poverty, based on experiences from several countries were presented and discussed at the conference.
|
Dr. Saman Kelegama, Executive Director of the IPS gave the welcome address and PEP-Co-Directors, Dr. Celia M. Reyes, and Dr. John Cockburn along with Dr. Evan Due, Senior Regional Programme Specialist, IDRC, made introductory remarks.
|
 |
 Welcome Address by the Executive Director, IPS (PDF Format 94kb)
Background to the PEP Fourth General Meeting
PEP Website
|
|
13-17 June, 2005
Poverty and Economic Policy (PEP) Research Network
Fourth General Meeting
Hotel Galadari, Colombo, Sri Lanka |
The Fourth General Meeting of the Poverty and Economic Policy (PEP) Research Network jointly organized by the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS) with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada will be inaugurated on 13 June, 2005 at the Hotel Galadari, Colombo . Hon. Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Minister of Finance will be the Chief Guest and Prof. Wishwa Warnapala, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs will be the Guest of Honour at the inauguration of the conference.
Over 150 researchers from over 40 countries will be participating in this event. A number of papers on a wide range of topics related to poverty, based on experiences from several countries will be presented and discussed at this meeting.
Background to the PEP Fourth General Meeting
Workshop Programmes
Conference Programmes
PEP Website
|
10-11 May, 2005
|
International Seminar on “Federalism and Conflict Resolution in Sri Lanka”, Colombo, Sri Lanka
|
|
L to R: Shankar Acharya, ICRIER, New Delhi; Saman Kelegama, Executive Director, IPS; S. Muthiah, CSA, Chennai; S.D. Muni, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; and V. S. Sambandan, Colombo Correspondent - The Hindu.
|
Executive Director made a presentation on “Transformation of a Conflict via an Economic Dividend: The Sri Lankan Experience” at an International Seminar on “Federalism and Conflict Resolution in Sri Lanka” organized by the Centre for Security Analysis (Chennai), Hans Seidel Foundation (New Delhi) and Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI- Colombo). The Seminar took place during 10-11 May at the SLFI.
Abstract of the Executive Director's Presentation (PDF Format 65 KB)
|
 |
|
7-9 May, 2005
Regional Seminar on “Economic Cooperation in South Asia ”, Colombo, Sri Lanka
|
|
CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics & Environment (CUTS-CITEE), Jaipur, India in association with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, New Delhi ( FES, India ) organized a Regional Seminar on “Economic Cooperation in South Asia” at Hotel Taj Samudra, Colombo during 7-9 May, 2005.
The main objectives of the Seminar were:
- Facilitate cross-fertilization of experiences and lessons learnt on economic (trade and investment) cooperation among South Asian countries in order to develop appropriate policy responses,
- Discuss South Asia's position on global economic issues, its relations with other regional groupings and response to global developments,
- Look for new initiatives that can be launched to enhance economic cooperation among the South Asian countries, and
- Better understand the role of the civil society for enhanced economic cooperation in South Asia and the peace dividends that this can generate.
Representatives from academia, business chambers, government and inter-governmental organizations and civil society of SAARC countries participated in the Seminar. The seminar was interactive in nature, so as to take on board diverse views on economic cooperation between South Asian countries. The Executive Director, IPS made a presentation on the “Need for Economic Cooperation among South Asian Countries”.
|
|
5 May, 2005
Regulatory Impact Assessment: A Tool for Better Regulatory Governance in Sri Lanka?
Publication of Interim Concept Paper and Expert Consultation
|
| |
|
|
|
IPS continued its work begun last year to develop a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) framework for Sri Lanka, publishing in April this year an interim concept paper titled “Regulatory Impact Assessment: A Tool for Better Regulatory Governance in Sri Lanka?”. The paper was developed by an informal working group convened by IPS following the two-day RIA workshop held in Colombo in June 2004. The working group included members from regulator agencies, law enforcement, operators, the media and NGO sector.
The interim concept paper was hosted on the Institute website on 20 April, 2005 and comments were invited from the public up to the 4 May. With a view to stimulating some interactive debate on the paper, a further Expert Consultation was held at IPS on 5 May, 2005. This drew together a group of regulatory experts from the public sector, private sector and civil society and was successful in raising a number of issues for debate. It is proposed to use the feedback that has been received to refine the interim concept paper and present the finalized version to policy makers in Government.
Click here to download the Interim Concept Paper (PDF Format 230 KB)
|
26 - 27 April, 2005
|
International Conference on "After the Quota System: The Impact of the MFA
Phase-Out on Growth and Employment in Asia ", Colombo, Sri Lanka
|
|
An International Conference on “After the Quota System: The Impact of the MFA Phase-Out on Growth and Employment in Asia” jointly organized by the IPS and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) was held on 26 and 27 April, 2005 at Hotel Taj Samudra, Colombo. Mr. S. Virithamulla, Secretary, Ministry of Trade, Commerce & Consumer Affairs inaugurated the conference.
Dr. Beate Bartoldus, Head of the Department Asia & Pacific, FES , Germany gave the welcome address and Dr. Saman Kelegama, Executive Director of the IPS made the introductory remarks.
|
| |
At the inauguration session, world trends in textile and garments were discussed by Sarika Gupta of UNCTAD India, while Denis Audet of OECD, Paris elaborated on estimates of the implications of the MFA expiry on Asian countries.
First session of the conference was devoted for country papers on Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand, India, Pakistan and Nepal, which reflected the implications of the MFA expiry on each of the above mentioned countries. The second session focused on two broad issues namely;
|
|
reaction of US and EU markets on the expiry of the MFA and the issue on protecting workers' interest in the liberalized textile and garment trade. Third session of the conference was dedicated to address concerns on survival strategies for the textile and garment industry in Sri Lanka ; EU GSP scheme and experience of the Ethical Trading Initiative in Sri Lanka . Out of the two panel discussions the first addressed the emerging scenarios of the textile and garment industry in Sri Lanka , in which perspectives of the government, employees and small and large producers were highlighted. The second panel addressed the issue of avoiding a race to the bottom in Asia in terms of responsibility of the global buyers and producers and the role of labour standards and codes of conduct.
The conference brought together stakeholders from the government, private sector, trade unions, international organizations, and, the research community.
|
View detail Agenda of the Conference ( PDF Format 152KB )
Conference in Pictures >>
|
|
8 April, 2005
Lal Jayawardena Colloquium, India Habitat Centre,
New Delhi, India
Dr.Saman Kelegama, Executive Director made a presentation on “South Asian Economic Cooperation” at the Lal Jayawardena Colloquium organized by the GDN at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India on 8 April 2005.
From L to R: A.N. Ram, Editor, Frontline Magazine,
Ajith Singh, Fellow, Queen's College, Cambridge, Rehman Sobhan, Executive Director, SACEPS, and Jean Drez, Professor, Delhi School of Economics at the Lal Jayawardena Colloquium.
Details of the Colloquium >>
|
9-10 March, 2005
|
Regional
seminar on: “WTO Doha Round & South Asia:
Linking
Civil Society with Trade Negotiations
|
 |
 |
A regional seminar on :“WTO Doha Round & South Asia: Linking Civil Society with Trade Negotiations” jointly organized by the Institute of Policy Studies
of Sri Lanka, CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics
& Environment, Jaipur, India and the South Asia Watch
on Trade, Economics & Environment, Nepal was held at the
Hotel Galadari, Colombo during 9-10 March, 2005. Hon. Jeyaraj
Fernadopulle, Minister of Trade, Commerce & Consumer Affairs
was the Chief Guest and Mr. Mohan Kumar, Deputy High Commissioner
of India was the Guest of Honour at the inauguration of the
seminar.
Making the welcome address, Dr. Saman Kelegama gave the background
to the event and commented that the Seminar is of crucial
importance especially because by the end of this year, December
2005, South Asian Trade Ministers, Trade Officials, members
of the civil society will gather in Hong Kong for the 6th
WTO Ministerial. “The Ministerial Conference of the
WTO evolves a lot of interest among policy makers and the
civil society given the critical impact of their decisions
for the development process in individual countries”
he added.
The event involved academicians, business chambers, government
and inter-governmental organizations and civil society representatives
from the region. In addition to focusing on the five key issues
of agriculture, non-agricultural market access, development
dimensions, services, trade facilitation, crosscutting issues
such as technical assistance and capacity building, gender
implications of particular measures were also explored during
the sessions.
|
 |
|
Welcome Address by the Executive Director, IPS ( PDF Format
101KB )
Seminar
in Pictures >>
|
|
2 March, 2005
Seminar: Sri Lanka-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement
|
|
 |
The Executive Director made a presentation on the “Sri
Lanka-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement as a Tool to Expand Regional
Trade” at a Seminar on “Sri Lanka-Pakistan Free
Trade Agreement” organized by the National Chamber of
Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCISL), 2 March, 2005.
The Sri Lanka-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement
was signed on 9 February 2005 in Islamabad, Pakistan. The Agreement
will come into effect shortly. The seminar on the Free Trade
Agreement was organized by the NCCISL in order to examine the
possible impact on the Sri Lankan trading sector and took place
at Palm Lounge, Galle Face Hotel, Colombo. The other speakers
were H.E. Col. (Rtd.) Bashir Wali Mohamed, High Commissioner
of Pakistan in Sri Lanka, K.J. Weerasinghe, Director-General,
Department of Commerce, and A.S. Chatoor, President, Sri Lanka
Pakistan Business Council.
|
|
19, 20 February, 2005
ALERT SRI LANKA, a YATV talk show aired on ETV
|
 |
 |
Malathy Knight-John, Research Fellow, IPS participated in ALERT
SRI LANKA, a talk show recorded at YATV, and aired by ETV. The
programme was aimed at creating better public awareness of the
need for a national early warning system and at flagging some
of the salient issues addressed in the concept paper on the
national all hazards warning system for Sri Lanka being developed
jointly by LIRNEasia, the IPS and the Vanguard Foundation.
|
|
17 February, 2005
Review Meeting on the Draft Concept
Paper "Specifications of a National All-Hazards Warning
System",
Ceylon Chamber of Commerce
Malathy Knight-John, Research Fellow, IPS
(with Prof. Rohan Samarajiva, Executive Director, LIRNEasia)
made a presentation at a Review Meeting organized by the Ceylon
Chamber of Commerce on the Draft Concept Paper titled "Specifications
of a National All-Hazards Warning System", Ceylon Chamber
of Commerce, 17 February, 2005.
|
|
17 February, 2005
Seminar on Domestic Regulatory Systems, BMICH, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Shantha Jayasinghe, Research Officer, IPS made a presentation on “Reform and Regulation of Infrastructure”, at a seminar organized by the Alumni Association of the International Development Law Organization (Sri Lanka Division) on “Domestic Regulatory Systems”, with a view to sharing insights gained at a training course on “Strengthening Domestic Regulatory Systems for Effective Public and Corporate Governance” in Rome, Italy in September, 2004. Representatives from various stakeholders in the regulatory space were among the participants.
 Presentation made by Shantha Jayasinghe at the Seminar ( Microsoft PowerPoint Format 113KB)
|
|
Impact of Tsunami on the Sri Lankan Economy
|
|
The Executive Director led a panel discussion
on “ Impact of the Tsunami on Business and the Economy:
Strategies for Rebuilding the Nation” organized by the
Sri Lanka-Italy Business Council, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce
Auditorium, 26 January.
The main objectives of the discussions were
to understand, the impact to business and the economy and discuss
prospects on growth on account of assistance given by Foreign
Governments and donor agencies; how sectors such as exports,
tourist hotels, and real estate would respond to the adversities
and the new opportunities; and to address disaster management
issues and the role of the management community in responding
to similar situations to use this opportunity for national re-awakening.
The panel also included, Dr. Tilak Fonseka,
Senior Lecturer, Postgraduate Institute of Management, Dr. Krishan
Deheragoda, Chairman, Real Estate Exchange (Pvt) Ltd, Mr. Malin
Hapugoda, President, Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka,
and Mr. Rohantha Athukorala, Chairman, Export Development Board.
The IPS has initiated work in two fronts on
the economic impact of the Tsunami. A team led by Mr. Paul Steel
and Ms. Malathy Knight-John is providing policy advice in several
areas. These include:
- Preparation of a short booklet on Recommendations on Socio-economic
Policy Issues related to the Tsunami. This is expected to
be published in Sinhala, Tamil and English and available
in late March.
- Hosting of an informal group of government, civil society
and private sector organizations collecting quantitative
and qualitative data from Tsunami survivors (This group
aims to share data, ensure data is placed in the public
domain and develop a voluntary code of conduct for data
collection from Tsunami victims)
- Providing assistance to the government in the design of
credit facilities for micro entrepreneurs and the self employed
who were negatively affected by the Tsunami.
- Working with LIRNEasia and the Vanguard Centre for Disaster
Preparedness to develop a National All Hazards Warning System
(NAHWS). The scope of this exercise is to apply knowledge
of international best practices to the problem of designing
an appropriate NAHWS for disasters of large-scale impact
(e.g., tsunamis, cyclones) and of localized impact (e.g.,
floods, landslides, reservoir breaches). The development
of the final policy paper and specifications will be based
on inputs and comments from two rounds of public consultation.
Presentation made by Malathy Knight-John, Research Fellow,
IPS at the First Expert Consultation on NAHWS:
|
|
25 January, 2005
Book launch: “Human Development in a Knowledge-Based
Society: Sri Lankan Scene”, Colombo, Sri Lanka
|
 |
A book titled “Human Development in a Knowledge-Based
Society: Sri Lankan Scene” edited by Prof. A.D. V. de
S Indraratna and published by the Sri Lanka Economic Association
was launched at the OPA Auditorium on 25 January. Dr. Saman
Kelegama, Executive Director, IPS, introduced the book in
the presence of the Chief Guest, Mr. Ajith Nivard Cabraal,
Cabraal Consulting Group and Prof. Indraratna, editor of the
book and the President of the Sri Lanka Economic Association.
The book is an outcome of the proceedings of the 2004 Annual
Sessions of the Sri Lanka Economic Association.
Review
by Dr. Saman Kelegama, Executive Director, IPS ( PDF Format
85KB )
|
|
IPS Governing Board appoints Dr. Dushni Weerakoon as
the Deputy Director of the Institute
|
 |
The IPS Governing Board recently appointed Dr. Dushni Weerakoon,
Research Fellow and the Head of the Macroeconomic Policy Unit,
as the Deputy Director of the Institute with effect from 01
January, 2005. Dr. Weerakoon has served the IPS for more than
a decade and has represented the Institute in a number of official
delegations and conferences. As the Deputy Director, she will
be in charge of the Institute’s Core-research programme,
seminars, and book reviews, and the Institute’s annual
publication on the State of the Economy.
|
|
<< Back to News Archive Index
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
