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Scheduled to be held at the Cinnamon Grand, Colombo, Perera said although the forum can accommodate only 1,000 participants, the demand for participation exceeded the expected number of applicants.
The registration for the CBF having closed earlier this month, the Deputy Minister said at a media briefing in Colombo which was also attended by John Keells Holdings Deputy Chairman/ CBF Co-Chair Ajith Gunawardena, and Commonwealth Business Council Country Director Nilrusha Pieris, that the applications of 450 international delegates and about 496 local participants have been accepted for attending the premier business event.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa having welcomed non-Commonwealth nations as well for the event, the CBF will be attended by 65 countries in total.
While non-Commonwealth countries attending the forum include Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, France, Greece, Germany, Israel, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, USA, and Turkey amongst others, the countries that will be attending with the highest participants will be the United Kingdom, India, and China.
The event being a brainchild of the President, Perera expressed it is similar to the World Economic Forum, that is held every two years in Davos, as the CBF will see top businessman in the world on one platform.
Pointing out that that the only difference between the World Economic Forum and the CBF is that the latter will be held in Sri Lanka, Perera said: “The event is held on the request of the President to the Commonwealth Council. The rationale behind this idea is that since the world will be looking at the East as Sri Lanka hosts the CHOGM, the CBF will serve as a stage for countries interested to explore economic partnerships and joint ventures with Asia. Our President, who will be the Chair for the CHOGM for the next two years decided to give the opportunity to countries who are not members of the Commonwealth to benefit from the event as well.”
Stating that the CBF is a major opportunity for foreign business investors to see the possibility of establishing ventures in the nation, he said: “With the agreement that we have between India and Pakistan, and the agreement we will be signing with Bangladesh and China, investors will have access to over 3 billion people. In addition to this, Sri Lanka is the only country where the Government and its opposition have the same principles on the economy. Therefore Sri Lanka is the only country in the region where there is stability and growth and where there is one vision for the political leaders and the people. This allows investors to confidently step in.”
However, Perera clarified that the objective of the CBF is to not only bring investments to Sri Lanka, but to also use the country as a “headquarter” for the region.
The CBF, which is organized by the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC), and the Government of Sri Lanka is expected to bring to the nation a investments worth US$ 2 billion.
While the forum will be opened by the President Mahinda Rajapaksa and will be addressed by Commonwealth Heads of Government, the event will provide valuable opportunity for high level dialogue on trade and investment between business and government leaders from the Commonwealth and beyond.
The CBF will be a key event in developing stronger partnerships between governments and business to ensure that the Commonwealth plays its part in promoting sustainable growth to the benefit of the whole of global society.
