World Intl. Certificate of Origin Council and World ATA Carnet Council Meetings now on in Colombo

Thursday, 20 November 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The World International Certificate of Origin Council Meeting and the World ATA Carnet Council Meeting was inaugurated by Senior Minister and Deputy Finance Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama on 18 November. These meeting are held at Hilton Colombo and are conducted by International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka (ICCSL) in collaboration with the World Chambers Federation (WCF).

From left: ICC World Chambers Federation Director Anthony Parkes, London Chamber of Commerce and Industry Deputy Chief Executive Peter Bishop, ICC Srilanka International Chamber of Commerce Chairman Keerthi Gunawardane, Ministry of Finance and Planning Deputy Minister Dr Sarath Amunugama, Carnet and Trade Services Senior Vice President Cynthia Duncan, ICC Srilanka Director General Gamini Peiris – Pix by Shehan Gunasekera A total of 43 participants from various international trade organisations and government officials from 37 countries including USA, UK, France are China are taking part in these sessions at Hilton Colombo from 18-21 November. ICC World Chambers Federation Director Anthony Parkes is also taking part in the workshop. Chief Guest Dr. Amunugama spoke about Sri Lanka’s location with clear borders unlike other SAARC region countries, which qualifies us for hub status. He also mentioned the bilateral trade agreements with India and China giving access to the largest markets of the world and requested the participants to make use of this strategic advantage. He described various impediments to international trade and the role international organisations could play to ease them.

ICC Sri Lanka Chairman Keerthi Gunawardane stated that the FTAs we have with India, Pakistan and soon with China could create lot of opportunities for ICC members in other countries to start business in Sri Lanka. Noting that local companies create value addition to tea, cinnamon and gems, he said Sri Lanka was developing as a centre for value addition to create unique products in the areas of garments, IT and other services. ICCSL Secretary General Gamini Peiris spoke about their attempts to host ICC international seminars and added that he was delighted at their success, while promising more such events in Sri Lanka in the future.

This event provides a unique opportunity to bring together business, customs and other government officials. The dialogue will be on the most effective means to facilitate the movement of goods and services between countries. ICC is committed to help bridge the gap between governments and business to ensure trade flows more efficiently. ICC provides a number of tools and services such as ATA Carnet and ICC Customs Guidelines. It facilitates building privileged relationships with inter-governmental agencies such as the Asian Development Bank, the World Customs Organization (WCO) and World Trade Organization (WTO) to shape the rules and regulations that govern trade and trade practices in global business.