US-based CIPE rates SL as priority country with biggest upside in the region

Wednesday, 21 June 2023 00:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

CIPE Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific John Morrell

- Pic by Sameera Wijesinghe

The US-based Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) which supports local efforts to strengthening democracy globally through private enterprise and market-oriented reform, has identified Sri Lanka as a priority country having the biggest upside amidst crises.

“Sri Lanka has the biggest upside within the region. It is not just that we have prioritised, but Sri Lanka is a country where we can actually see results,” said CIPE Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific John Morrell who was in Colombo recently along with Managing Director Programs Abdulwahab Alkebsi along with South Asia Program Director Aarya Nijat.

Present in 80 countries with field offices and representatives in 30 of them, CIPE’s primary areas of focus include Ethics, Business Advocacy, Democratic Governance, Enterprise Ecosystems, and Trade. In the past four decades CIPE has carried out over 2,800 programs in 138 countries including Sri Lanka.

“Sri Lanka is a country with its problems as any other country. The problems are solvable. They’re largely technocratic. There are problems at the margins. So, it’s a country that’s not just a priority, but it’s an enjoyable place to work because we can actually see improvements, we can see the results of our work,” Morrell told the Daily FT in an interview.

CIPE, as the international branch of the US Chamber of Commerce - the world’s largest business organisation, collaborates with business associations, chambers, think tanks, and other non-governmental organisations in emerging markets around the world to implement private sector-led solutions to local challenges. Through local partners CIPE supports oversight and accountability in public finance as well as evidence-based advocacy of public finance policies and improves Sri Lankan private sector in promoting business ethics, including sustainable approaches to anti-corruption through research and capacity building.

At present, CIPE supports budgetpromises.org by Verite Research aimed at improving transparency of national budgets. It also supports the Alliance for Sustainable Infrastructure, a group of about a dozen think tanks, business associations, NGOs from all over the country dedicated to increasing transparency and sustainability of infrastructure. It also works with the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, the Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Transparency International Sri Lanka. “The momentum in Sri Lanka is moving forward and we feel our programs can have an impact in Sri Lanka,” Morrell added to reinforce why Sri Lanka is important for CIPE.

– See full interview

on Page 11