Dr. Dayaratna Silva appointed Executive Director of Pathfinder Foundation

The Pathfinder Foundation has appointed Dr. Dayaratna Silva as its new Executive Director.

He succeeds Ameera Arooz, who stepped down as Executive Director in January 2022. She will continue to be associated with the Foundation in the capacity of Consultant – Communications.

Dr. Silva is an International Trade Economist with over 30 years of experience in economic development, trade policy and trade facilitation. He earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree (Honours) with a first-class from the University of Peradeniya. He possesses several postgraduate qualifications, including a Ph.D. in Economics (University of Melbourne) and a Master’s Degree in International Economics (University of London) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Economic Development (University of Colombo).

He recently worked for the International Trade Centre in Geneva as the National Project Coordinator of the EU-Sri Lanka Trade-Related Assistance Project. He served as a Senior Economic Affairs Officer/Deputy Head attached to the sub-regional office (SRO) of UNESCAP in New Delhi. Prior to joining the United Nations, he served as Director of Commerce at the Department of Commerce, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the WTO in Geneva, Consul General to UAE, Minister (Economic and Commercial) in Geneva, Brussels and London. 

In his career at the Department of Commerce, spanning over 25 years, he handled multiple duties, including overseeing and safeguarding Sri Lanka’s interest in multilateral negotiation in WTO, UNCTAD, ITC, GSP, GSTP, SAARC and BIMSTEC. Dr. Silva has extensive knowledge of trade-related issues, including the EU-GSP, trade policy and facilitation, trade capacity development and promotion.