SAARC Trade Fair and Investment Forum 2017 from 6-9 Sept.

Sri Lanka will host the SAARC Investment Forum, nurturing greater economic and social cooperation within the SAARC region, under the patronage of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Themed ‘Unleashing South Asia’, the investment forum will be held on 6 September at the Hilton, Colombo followed by the SAARC Trade Fair, which will take place at SLECC from 7-9 September. The investment forum is being organised by the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industries Sri Lanka (FCCISL) and MP Events Lanka.

The investment forum will draw over 250 investors (local and international) including entrepreneurs, fund managers, CEOs and other senior corporate representatives.

The forum will kick off with a panel discussion which will explore the investment outlook of the South Asian region with key trade experts namely Shantanu Chakraborty - Director Infrastructure Finance Division 1 Private Sector Operations Department, Asian Development Bank; V.K. Kharbanda - Project Director, South Asia Regional Initiative for Energy Integration, IRADE (Integrated  Research and Action Development); Thilan Wijesinghe - Chairman of National Agency for Public Private Partnership, Ministry of Finance of Sri Lanka; Ralph Van Doorn - Senior Country Economist-World Bank Group; Shahroz Jalil - Deputy Team Leader of the Market Development Facility (MDF) and the Country Representative for MDF in Sri Lanka; and Kushan Kodituwakku - Managing Director, Orel Corporation Ltd. with the panel being moderated by Subhashini Abeysinghe - Verité Research Director.

The speakers will provide valuable insight and emphasis on tourism, renewable energy, construction, real estate and manufacturing amongst other areas. There will also be an individual country presentation sighting investment opportunities available within the region with the participation of investment authorities from South Asian countries. While the forum aims to open avenues to boost regional trade, the SAARC Trade Fair held from 7-9 September following the investment forum will feature over 150 exhibition booths including a corporate pavilion, a Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) pavilion and a business-to-business meeting space creating an ideal platform for regional business cooperation and facilitating trade and business integration. For enquiries on registration and stall reservation contact 0777428814 or email [email protected].