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30 August, 2008
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The 1st South Asia Economic Summit Successfully Concluded in Colombo |
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The 1st South Asia Economic Summit (SAES) which commenced in parallel to the 8th SAARC Trade Fair at the BMICH in Colombo on 28th August, 2008 was concluded on 30th August after three days of comprehensive and in-depth deliberations on key regional economic issues.
The SAES was organized by the IPS in collaboration with the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL) and in partnership with Research & Information Systems for Developing Countries (RIS), India; South Asia Centre for Policy Studies (SACEPS), Nepal; and South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics & Environment (SAWTEE), Nepal. The SAES was supported by the World Bank, Commonwealth Secretariat, UNDP-Regional Centre in Colombo, and the Asian Development Bank.
A key objective of the Summit was to provide a forum for the exchange of innovative ideas and policy options to tackle key economic issues affecting the region.
Inaugurating the SAES on the 28th, Hon. Rohitha Bogollagama, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, said that the “South Asia Economic Summit, will afford us the opportunity to improve, enhance and expand connectivity in the South Asian region.” He also stated as the Chair of SAARC that, Sri Lanka endeavours to build on the successes of previous summits in strengthening the SAARC process. “Our objective is to ensure that the decisions taken and agreed upon at the Summit are efficaciously implemented and executed, thus delivering tangible economic benefits to the region of South Asia” the Minister added.
The Executive Director, IPS and Macky Hashim, Past President, FCCISL & SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) made the welcome and introductory remarks.
His Excellency Alok Prasad, High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka inaugurated the Summit on the 29th, and Hon. Prof. G.L. Peiris, Minister of Export Development and International Trade inaugurated the final day of the Summit.
The Summit gathered academics, government officials, civil society groups and business sector representatives from across South Asia to discuss, debate and to map the way forward for key current and emerging economic issues in the region.
 Welcome Speech made by the Executive Director, IPS
Inaugural Speech made by Hon. Rohitha Bogollagama, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Opening Remarks by Sadiq Ahmed, Senior Manager, Regional Programmes, South Asia Region, World Bank
Remarks by Mr.Alok Prasad, High Commissioner of India
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1st South Asia Economic Summit
Summit in Pictures
28 August, 2008
Inauguration |
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| Lighting the traditional oil lamp |
Hon. Rohitha Bogollagama, Minister of Foreign Affairs making the Inaugural Address |
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| Session I: SAFTA: Current Status & Prospects |
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Parallel Session: Promoting Tourism in South Asia |
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| L to R: Dushni Weerakoon (IPS), Muchkund Dubey (South Asia Centre for Policy Studies (SACEPS), Nepal), Selim Raihan, (SANEM, Bangladesh), Macky Hashim (FCCISL & SCCI ), I.N. Mukherji (JNU, India), and Arif Zaman (South Asia Commonwealth Business Council (CBC)) |
L to R: Mohamed Jaleel (Formerly Ministry of Economy & Trade, Republic of Maldives), Bishwambher Pyakuryal ( Tribhuvan University, Nepal), and Renton De Alwis (Sri Lanka Tourist Development Authority & Sri Lanka Promotions Bureau) |
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| Book Launch: ADB- UNCTAD Study: “Quantification of Benefits from Economic Cooperation in South Asia” |
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| L to R: Rashmi Banga (UNCTAD, India), Pratima Dayal (ADB, India), Safdar Sohail (Foreign Trade Institute of Pakistan), Mustafizur Rahman (Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Bangladesh), Richard Vokes (ADB), Nagesh Kumar (RIS, India), Janaka Wijyasiri (IPS) and Navin Dahal (SAWTEE) |
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| Session II: Trade in Services in South Asia |
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Parallel Session: South Asian Growth Quadrangle |
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| L to R: Ram Upendra Das (RIS, India), Indrajit Coomaraswamy (Commonwealth Secretariat, UK), Deshal De Mel (IPS, Sri Lanka), Jayanta Roy (Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), India), and Navin Dahal (South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics & Environment (SAWTEE), Nepal) |
L to R: Ram Bhekh B. Thapa (Formerly Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Finance, & Ambassador to USA & India), Muchkund Dubey (SACEPS, Nepal), Kamal Hossain (Formerly Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh), Lok Raj Baral (Nepal Centre for Contemporary Studies), and Rehman Sobhan, (CPD, Bangladesh) |
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| Session III: Trade Facilitation in South Asia |
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India-Sri Lanka, Pakistan-Sri Lanka Bilateral Free Trade Agreements |
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| L to R: Rajiv Kumar (ICRIER, New Delhi), Safdar Sohail (Foreign Trade Institute of Pakistan, Ministry of Commerce), Mustafizur Rahman (CPD, Bangladesh), and Sayeeful Islam (Consulate of Federative Republic of Brazil in Bangladesh) and Jayanta Roy (Confederation of India Industry (CII)) |
L to R: Arif Zaman (CBC), Mohamed Aejaz (Pakistan High Commission in Sri Lanka), Nagesh Kumar (RIS, India), Santosh Jha (Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka) and Deshal de Mel (IPS, Sri Lanka) |
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29 August, 2008
Dinner Hosted by Executive Director IPS to welcome the South Asian Delegates for the 1st South Asia Economic Summit
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| 29 August, 2008 |
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| Inauguration |
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Session IV: Investment Area in South Asia |
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| H.E. Alok Prasad, High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka making the inaugural address on the second day of the Summit |
Nagesh Kumar (RIS, India), Syed Babar Ali (SACEPS, Nepal), Biplove Choudhary (UNDP-Regional Centre-Colombo), Farooq Sobhan (Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI), and Prabhash Ranjan (WB National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS), Kolkata) |
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| Parallel Session: Issues for Weaker Economies in South Asia |
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Session V: Energy Issues & Integration in South Asia |
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| L to R: Ibrahim Zaki (Formerly SAARC Secretariat), Ratnakar Adhikari (SAWTEE, Nepal), Sonam Tobgay (Ministry of Agriculture, Royal Government of Bhutan), Navin Dahal (SAWTEE, Nepal), and Mohammad Razzaque (Commonwealth Secretariat, UK) |
L to R: Raghuveer Sharma (World Bank), Sridhar Khatri (South Asia Centre for Policy Studies (SACEPS, Nepal), Nitya Nanda (Centre for Global Agreements, Legislation & Trade, TERI, New Delhi), Mahendra Lama (Sikkim University), and Farooq Sobhan (BEI, Bangladesh) |
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| Parallel Session: ICT Sector in South Asia: Strategies for Cooperation |
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Session VI: Managing the Food Prices Crisis in South Asia |
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| L to R: Rajiv Kumar (ICRIER, New Delhi), Kanak Mani Dixit (Himal Southasian, Nepal), Hon. Tissa Vitarana (Minister of Science & Technology, Ministry of Science & Technology, Sri Lanka), and Anil Srivastava (Capital Technology Information Services, USA) |
L to R: Richard Vokes (Asian Development Bank), Biplove Choudhary (UNDP-Regional Centre-Colombo), Sonam Tobgay (Ministry of Agriculture, Royal Government of Bhutan), Mahmoud Saikal (UNDP- Afghanistan National Development Strategy), and Ejaz Ghani (World Bank) |
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| Parallel Session: Labour Migration Issues in South Asia |
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| L to R: Athula Ranasinghe (University of Colombo), Dilli Raj Khanal (Institute of Policy Research & Development, Nepal), Abid Qaiyum Suleri (Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Pakistan), and Sridhar Khatri (SACEPS, Nepal) |
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| 30 August, 2008 |
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| Inauguration |
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Session VII: Transport Issues & Integration in South Asia |
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| Hon. Prof. G.L Peiris, Minister of Export Development and International Trade making the inaugural speech on the 3rd and final day of the Summit |
L to R: M. Rahmatullah (TSMR Programme, Bangladesh Planning Commission), Prabir De (RIS, India), Ejaz Ghani (World Bank), Amal Kumarage (University of Moratuwa), Marianne Kilpatrick (World Bank), and Amer Zafar Durrani (World Bank) |
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| Parallel Session: Bringing the ‘IPL Spirit’ To SAARC |
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Session VIII: Strengthening the SAARC Process |
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| L to R: Akmal Hussain (Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), Farooq Sobhan (BEI, Bangladesh), Mahenra Lama (Sikkim University), Nitya Nanda (TERI, New Delhi), and Deshal de Mel (IPS, Sri Lanka) |
L to R: Mahendra Lama, Muchkund Dubey, Ibrahim Zaki (Formerly of SAARC Secretariat), Nihal Rodrigo (Presidential Secretariat), and Rehman Sobhan, (Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Bangladesh) |
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| Concluding Session: The Outcomes & Follow-Up |
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| L to R: Ejaz Ghani (World Bank), Rehman Sobhan, (CPD, Bangladesh), Executive Director (IPS), and Nagesh Kumar (RIS, India) |
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28 August, 2008
ADB Report launch at the SAES
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24 July, 2008
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Indian State Minister of Commerce and Power, and the Secretary General of SAARC will participate in the
1st South Asia Economic Summit |
Hon. Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Commerce and Power, Government of India will participate as the Chief Guest on the 2nd day (29th August) and H.E. Dr. Sheel Kant Sharma, Secretary General, SAARC will participate as the Guest of Honour at the inauguration (28th August) at the 1st South Asia Economic Summit.
Executive Director, IPS met the Honorable Minister and the Secretary General at the regional conference on “Deepening South Asian Economic Integration” organized by the RIS (India), SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) in New Delhi on 24 July, 2008.
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L to R: Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director General, RIS; Dr. Sheel Kant Sharma, Secretary General, SAARC; Dr. Kamal Hossain, former Minister of Bangladesh; Hon. Jairam Ramesh, Minister for Commerce and Power, Government of India; Executive Director, IPS; Nihal Rodrigo, former Secretary General, SAARC and Adviser to H.E. President of Sri Lanka; and Bheck B. Thapa, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nepal.
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16 July, 2008
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President, Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industry will participate in the
1st South Asia Economic Summit
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Omar Maniku, President of the Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industry met the Executive Director of the IPS to pledge full support for the forthcoming South Asia Economic Summit. Omar Maniku also expressed his desire to be a discussant to the session on Promoting Tourism in South Asia. The meeting took place at the IPS on 16 July, 2008.
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3 July, 2008
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President, SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry will participate in the 1st South Asia Economic Summit |
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Executive Director, IPS, met Tariq Sayeed, President, SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI -- the apex business organization of SAARC -- www.saarcchamber.com) at the Head Office of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL) on 3 July, 2008.Three executive committee members including the President of the FCCISL also participated in the meeting. Mr. Sayeed pledged full support for the forthcoming South Asia Economic Summit and will encourage members of the SCCI to actively participate in the Summit while they engage in the 8th SAARC Trade Fair.
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