Annual Report 2005 - Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka

Conferences, In-House Seminars & Book ReviewsConferences & WorkshopsWTO Doha Round & South Asia: LinkingCivil Society with Trade NegotiationsHotel Galadari, Colombo, 9-10 MarchA regional seminar on “WTO Doha Round & SouthAsia: Linking Civil Society with Trade Negotiations”jointly organized by the Institute of Policy Studiesof Sri Lanka, CUTS Centre for International Trade,Economics & Environment, Jaipur, India and theSouth Asia Watch on Trade, Economics &Environment, Nepal was held at the Hotel Galadari,Colombo during 9-10 March. Hon. JeyarajFernandopulle, Minister of Trade, Commerce &Consumer Affairs was the Chief Guest and MohanKumar, Deputy High Commissioner of India was theGuest of Honour at the Inauguration of the seminar.Executive Director making the Welcome Address at the regionalseminar on “WTO Doha Round & South Asia: Linking CivilSociety with Trade Negotiations”, Hotel Galadari, 9 March.The seminar was of crucial importance especially because by the end 2005 December South Asian TradeMinisters, Trade Officials and members of the civil society were to gather in Hong Kong for the 6th WTOMinisterial.The event involved academicians, business chambers, government and inter-governmental organizationsand civil society representatives from the region. In addition to focusing on the five key issues of agriculture,non-agricultural market access, development dimensions, services, trade facilitation, crosscutting issues suchas technical assistance and capacity building, gender implications of particular measures were also exploredduring the sessions.After the Quota System: The Impact ofthe MFA Phase-Out on Growth andEmployment in AsiaHotel Taj Samudra, Colombo, 26-27 AprilAn International Conference on “After the QuotaSystem: The Impact of the MFA Phase-Out onGrowth and Employment in Asia” jointly organizedby the IPS and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES)was held on 26 and 27 April at Hotel Taj Samudra,Colombo. S. Virithamulla, Secretary, Ministry ofTrade, Commerce & Consumer Affairs inauguratedthe conference.S. Virithamulla, Secretary, Ministry of Trade, Commerce &Consumer Affairs, making the Inaugural Address at the seminaron “After the Quota System: The Impact of the MFA Phase-Out on Growth and Employment in Asia”, Hotel Taj Samudra,26 April.At the Inaugural Session, world trends in textile andgarments were discussed by Sarika Gupta of UNCTAD India, while Denis Audet of OECD, Paris elaboratedon estimates of the implications of the MFA expiry on Asian countries.39__________ Annual Report 2005