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Programme and Resources
Day I: Monday 30th March
8:30 – 9:00 Registration
9:00 – 10:30 Inauguration
9:00 – 9:10 Welcome Address &
Introduction to the Seminar: Saman Kelegama, Executive Director, IPS
9:10 – 9:20 Opening Remarks: Omar Noman, Head, UNDP–RCC & Chief of Policies &
Programmes, UNDP Regional Centre for Asia & Pacific
9:20 – 9:40 Book Launch: Trade in Services in South Asia: Opportunities &
Introduction & handing over Risks of Liberalization
A copy to the Chief Guest
9:40 – 10:10 Chief Guest Address: Hon. Prof. G.L. Peiris, Minister of Export Development & International Trade
10:10 – 10:30 Remarks by Guest of Honour: Nihal Rodrigo, Advisor to H.E. the President on Foreign
Affairs & former Secretary General - SAARC
10:30 – 11:00 Tea/Coffee
11:00 – 12:45 Session I: Services Liberalization & Domestic
Regulation: At A Time of Global Economic Crisis
Chairperson: Ravi Ratnayake, Director, Trade & Investment Division, UNESCAP
11:00 – 11:20 Speaker: Services Liberalization in Changing Times: Why is it Important?
Johannes Bernabe, Programme Director, International Centre
for Trade & Sustainable Development (ICTSD), Switzerland
11:20 – 11:40 Speaker: Services Liberalization: Status of Debate at the WTO
Datuk M. Supperamaniam, Former Ambassador / Permanent
Representative of Malaysia to the WTO
11:40 – 11:55 Discussant: Mia Mikic, Economic Affairs Officer, Trade Policy Section,
Trade Investment Division, UNESCAP
11:55 – 12:10 Discussant: Prabhash Ranjan, Assistant Professor,
WB National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS), Kolkata
12:10 – 12:45 Floor Discussion
12:45 – 13:45 Lunch
13:45 – 15:00 Session II: Key Services Sectors for Liberalization in South Asia
Chairperson: Safdar Sohail, Director General,
Foreign Trade Institute of Pakistan, Ministry of Commerce
13:45 – 14:05 Speaker: Trade in Services in South Asia & Scheduling Priorities
Rupa Chanda, Professor of Economics,
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB)
14:05 – 14:20 Discussant: Archana Jatkar, Assistant Policy Analyst, CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics & Environment (CUTS-CITEE), India
14:20 – 14:35 Discussant: Waqar Ahmad, Managing Director, Business Horizons, Pakistan
14:35 – 15:00 Floor Discussion
15:00 – 16:30 Session III: Services Liberalization in SAFTA
Chairperson: H.N. Thenuwara, Assistant Governor, Central Bank of Sri Lanka
15:00 – 15:30 Speaker: Incorporating Services Liberalization into SAFTA :
Current Status
Rajan Sudesh Ratna, Professor, Centre for WTO Studies,
India Institute of Foreign Trade
15:30 – 15:45 Discussant: Deshal De Mel, Research Economist, IPS
15:45 – 16:00 Discussant: Posh Raj Pandey, President, South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics & Environment (SAWTEE), Nepal
16:00 – 16:30 Floor Discussion
16:30 – 16:45 TEA/COFFEE
16:45 – 18:00 Session IV: Challenges of Liberalizing Trade in Services in South Asia
Chairperson: Sarath Rajapatirana, Senior Visiting Scholar,
American Enterprise Institute, Washington D.C.
16:45 – 17:05 Speaker: Overcoming the Challenges of Services Liberalization in South Asia
Rashmi Banga, Senior Economist, United Nations Conference
on Trade & Development (UNCTAD), India
17:05 – 17:20 Discussant: Azizun Nahar, Deputy Director- WTO Cell,
Ministry of Commerce, Bangladesh
17:20 – 17:35 Discussant: Subhashini Abeysinghe, Economist, Economic Intelligence Unit,
Ceylon Chamber of Commerce
17:35 – 18:00 Floor Discussion
Day II: Tuesday 31st March
9:00 – 10:30 Session V: Liberalizing Trade in Services & Economic Growth
Chairperson: Rajan Sudesh Ratna, Professor, Centre for WTO Studies,
India Institute of Foreign Trade
9:00 – 9:10 Launch of Book: Domestic Preparedness for Services Trade Liberalization:
Are South Asian Countries Prepared for Further Liberalization?
CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics & Environment, India
Archana Jatkar, Assistant Policy Analyst, CUTS -CITEE, India
9:10 – 9:40 Speaker: Effects of Services Trade Liberalization on Economic Growth of GMS
Countries (Analysis based on services liberalization indices)
Khin Maung Nyunt, Assistant Professor, School of Management,
Mae Fah Luang University, Thailand
9:40 – 9:50 Discussant: Mia Mikic, Economic Affairs Officer, Trade Policy Section,
Trade Investment Division, UNESCAP
9:50 – 10:00 Discussant: Rashmi Banga, Senior Economist, United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD), India
10:00 – 10:30 Floor Discussion
10:30 – 11:00 TEA/COFFEE
11:00 – 12:45 Session VI: Regional & International Experience of Liberalization of Services
Chairperson: Biplove Choudhary, Trade Specialist, Asia Pacific Trade & Investment Initiative, UNDP-RCC
11:00 – 11:30 Speaker: Liberalizing Trade in Services in ASEAN
Mia Mikic, Economic Affairs Officer, Trade Policy Section,
Trade Investment Division, UNESCAP
11:30 – 12:00 Speaker: International Experiences in Liberalizing Trade in Services
& Possible Best Practices
Johannes Bernabe, Programme Director, International Centre for Trade &
Sustainable Development (ICTSD), Switzerland
12:00 – 12:10 Discussant: Parashar Kulkarni, Researcher (Political Economy),
Centre for Development Finance (CDF), India
12:10 – 12:20 Discussant: Vidya Rangan, Academic-Intern, Economics & Social Sciences Area,
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB)
12:20 – 12:45 Floor Discussion
12:45 – 13:45 Lunch
13:45 – 15:15 Session VII: Negotiating Modalities
Chairperson: Ravi Ratnayake, Director, Trade & Investment Division, UNESCAP
13:45 – 14:15 Speaker: ASEAN Experience
Datuk M. Supperamaniam, Former Ambassador / Permanent
Representative of Malaysia to the WTO
14:15 – 14:45 Floor Discussion
14:45 – 15:15 Speaker: Way Forward
Rupa Chanda, Professor of Economics,
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB)
15:15 – 15:30 Vote of Thanks
Dushni Weerakoon, Deputy Director, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka
Media Highlights
Sunday Times, 12 April, 2009—  “Economists urge governments to facilitate services exports within the region”
Daily News, 31 March, 2009— “Broadening Economic Integration: SA needs to be wary of Impact of Liberalization on the Poor - Dr. Kelegama”
Lanka Business Online, 30 March, 2009— “Sri Lanka allays Private Sector fears over Trade Deals”
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| Inauguration ceremony |
Executive Director making the welcome and introductory remarks |
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Book Launch |
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| Omar Noman, Head UNDP-RCC and Chief of Policies and Programmes, UNDP Regional Centre for Asia and Pacific, making the opening remarks |
Executive Director, who is also the Editor of the Book: “Trade in Services in South Asia: Opportunities and Risks of Liberalization” handing over the first copy to the Chief Guest, Hon. Prof, G.L. Peiris, Minister of Export Development and International Trade |
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| Hon. Minister handing over the copies of the book to the chapter authors |
Hon. Minister handing over the copies of the book to the chapter authors |
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| Hon. Minister addressing the gathering |
Nihal Rodrigo, Advisor to His Excellency the President on Foreign Affairs, and Former Secretary General of SAARC, making his address |
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Session I: Services Liberalization & Domestic Regulation: At A Time of Global Economic Crisis
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| Section of the participants of the conference |
L to R: Johannes Bernabe (International Centre for Trade & Sustainable Development (ICTSD), Switzerland), Datuk M. Supperamaniam (Former Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the WTO), Ravi Ratnayake (UNESCAP), Mia Mikic (UNESCAP), and Prabhash Ranjan (WB National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) |
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| Session II: Key Services Sectors for Liberalization in South Asia |
Session III: Services Liberalization in SAFTA |
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| L to R: Rupa Chanda (Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), Safdar Sohail (Foreign Trade Institute of Pakistan, Ministry of Commerce), Archana Jatkar (CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics & Environment (CUTS-CITEE), India), and Waqar Ahmad (Business Horizons, Pakistan) |
L to R: Rajan Sudesh Ratna(Centre for WTO Studies, India Institute of Foreign Trade), H.N. Thenuwara (Central Bank of Sri Lanka), Deshal De Mel (IPS), and Posh Raj Pandey (SAWTEE, Nepal) |
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| Session IV: Challenges of Liberalizing Trade in Services in South Asia |
Session V: Liberalizing Trade in Services & Economic Growth |
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| L to R : Rashmi Banga (United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD), India), Sarath Rajapatirana (American Enterprise Institute, Washington D.C.), Azizun Nahar (WTO Cell, Ministry of Commerce, Bangladesh) and Subhashini Abeysinghe (Ceylon Chamber of Commerce) |
L to R: Khin Maung Nyunt (Mae Fah Luang University, Thailand), Archana Jatkar (CUTS -CITEE, India), Rajan Sudesh Ratna (Centre for WTO Studies, India Institute of Foreign Trade), Mia Mikic (UNESCAP), and Rashmi Banga(UNCTAD), India |
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Session VI: Regional & International Experience of Liberalization
of Services |
Session VII: Negotiating Modalities |
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| L to R: Mia Mikic (UNESCAP), Johannes Bernabe (International Centre for Trade & Sustainable Development (ICTSD), Switzerland), Biplove Choudhary (UNDP-RCC), Parashar Kulkarni (Centre for Development Finance (CDF), India), and Vidya Rangan (Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) |
Datuk M. Supperamaniam (Former Ambassador / Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the WTO), Ravi Ratnayake (UNESCAP), and Rupa Chanda (Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) |
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