LAHORE: President Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL) Ruwan Edirisinghe Monday took over the SAARC Chamber Presidency for the term 2018-19 in a grandeur ceremony graced by Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickramsinghe at Colombo.
Ruwan Edirisinghe became the 13th President of SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the second Sri Lankan appointed to this position. Earlier he served as Senior Vice president of SAARC CCI in the year 2017.
Commenting on his new position he said, I’m feeling honoured yet humbled to accept this prestigious position of Presidency at SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He also said SAARC is apolitical and trade block which has an overall population of over 1.7 billion with enormous unutilised natural and human resources. As we all know the engine of the growth of South Asia is the private sector of SAARC member countries. Therefore, the development and progress of SAARC member countries cannot be separated from the development and progress of the private sector of SAARC countries.
“In this context, under my Presidency, I wish to focus on trade and investments both unilaterally and bilaterally in short term and long term targets to bring the “SAARC” brand shining in the world economy to be the strongest and best chamber in the world in the year 2030”, he further added.
Ruwan Edirisinghe is an award-winning entrepreneur in the field of constructions and the founder chairman/managing director of R N Constructions -the flagship company of the R N group of companies. He was adjudged as the Sri Lankan entrepreneur of the year in the year 2008 at its annual awards ceremony.
He is the chairman of the Ceylon National Chamber of Industries of Sri Lanka (CNCI) also serves on a number of trade chambers and professional bodies in the country in various capacities. Ruwan Edirisinghe is a civil engineer by profession and graduated from University of Peradeniya in the year 1986.
Congratulating him for taking over the responsibility of SAARC CCI president, Iftikhar Ali Malik, Vice President SAARC Chamber Pakistan Chapter who was representing Pakistan on the occasion, said he is optimistic that under the dynamic leadership of Ruwan, SAARC CCI will get the quick and fruitful results by strengthening regional cooperation and would help respective member states to dissolve their political issues on exigent basis through dialogues.
However, he said despite the intense proximity, the South Asian region is the least connected region in the world and there is need to work for eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers. South Asian countries do less than 5 per cent trade among them as lack of physical connectivity and political will, and long sensitive lists have remained a stumbling block for enhanced trade and investment.
He said the leading business communities of all eight countries feel that closer collaboration amongst businessmen is integral for regional integration and is a win-win situation for all stakeholders. “At SAARC CCI, our aim is to facilitate businesses of South Asia and to encourage investors from SAARC region and beyond to invest in SAARC countries. We strongly feel that this exchange will address major challenges the region faces; job creation for the youth of South Asia, our region’s biggest asset; and poverty,” he concluded.
Other important members of Pakistan’s delegation attending the event included Advisor SAARC chamber Zubair Ahmad Malik, Vice Chairman Youth Entrepreneur Forum SAARC chamber Shaharyar Ali Malik, and member executive committee Nasim Ur Rehman, Secretary Genera Hina Saeed, and Deputy Secretary-General Zulfiqar Ali Butt.
