8-9 August, 2010

Executive Director and Deputy Director made presentations at a Workshop on South Asian Tax Systems organized by the Governance Institutes Network International (GINI) with the sponsorship of IDRC. The Workshop took place at Furama City Hotel, Singapore during 8-9 August, 2010.

Executive Director made a presentation on the “Political Economy of Taxation in Sri Lanka” while the Deputy Director made a presentation on “Recent and Upcoming Fiscal Reforms in Sri Lanka”. The Workshop was a first step towards promoting collaborative research on South Asia’s Tax System.

GINI Workshop Report

29 -30 July, 2010

The IPS organized a conference, in collaboration with Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung (FES), on “Policy Priorities for Foreign Aid Reform in South Asia” during 29th-30th July 2010 at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo.

The IPS was honoured to have Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Deputy Minister of Finance, attend the conference as the Chief Guest. Former Secretary General of SAARC, Ambassador Nihal Rodrigo, participated as the Guest of Honour. The event commenced with a welcome speech delivered by Dr Dushni Weerakoon, Deputy Director, IPS, which was followed by an address by Dr Amunugama and Ambassador Nihal Rodrigo before the commencement of the technical sessions.

Aid has long become an increasingly prominent feature of development financing within South Asia. The conference was designed to provide a critical analysis of the effectiveness of foreign aid in the South Asian region, creating awareness as to where such funding is working and where it is not. Whilst there has been much dialogue on aid effectiveness in recent times, spearheaded by initiatives such as the 2005 Paris Declaration, it has been largely donor-driven with little input from the recipient countries themselves. The greater significance of donor activity within both the designing and implementation process of development activities in South Asia has necessitated the need for recipient countries to assess the impact of donors in their own countries, so as to extinguish the culture of complacency that has accompanied such resources in the past.

As part of the conference, resource people from the eight SAARC countries in the South Asian region presented papers on aid effectiveness in their respective countries. The participating countries were: Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Further to this, there were contributions from key resource persons in government, academia and representatives from major donors operating within the region. The conference was attended by policy makers, academics, donors, civil society and members of the diplomatic community, all of whom had the opportunity to both contribute to and develop their own thinking on the issues at hand.

More

---

27 July, 2010

Li Shaoxian, Vice President, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), Hu Shisheng, Deputy Director, Institute of South and South East Asian Studies (ISSEAS), CICIR, together with two Research Fellows of ISSEAS, CICIR, met the Executive Director of the IPS to learn about the growing economic relations between China and Sri Lanka.

CICIR intends to develop collaborative research links with the IPS on economic issues in the near future. The delegation was coordinated by the BCIS and the meeting took place at the IPS Conference Room, 27 July 2010.

18 June, 2010

Regional Consultation Seminar on South Asian Positions in the WTO Doha Round was Jointly organized by the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka and Consumer Unity & Trust Society [CUTS International], India, at Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo, 18 June, 2010. Anwarul Hoda, Chair Professor, Trade Policy & WTO Research Programme, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) was the Chief Guest. Executive Director of the IPS made the inaugural address and Archana Jatkar, Assistant Policy Analyst, CUTS Centre for International Trade, Environment & Economics (CUTS—CITEE) made the Introduction to the Seminar.

Key presenters at the seminar were, Fredrick Abeyratne, Senior Programme Analyst, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); Anura Herath, Sri Lanka Country Programme Management Facilitator, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); Anwarul Hoda, Chair Professor,Trade Policy & WTO Research Programme, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER); Zafar Mahmood, HEC Foreign Professor of Economics, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE); Agneshwar Sen, Joint Director General, Office of the Zonal Joint Director General of Foreign Trade, Kolkata; Amiti Sen, Senior Assistant Trade Editor,The Economic Times, India; Arpita Mukherjee, Professor, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER); and Pushpa Sharma, Programme Coordinator, South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics & Environment (SAWTEE).

A brief summary and Vote of Thanks, was delivered by Joseph George, Research Associate, CUTS Centre for International Trade, Environment & Economics (CUTS—CITEE).

Deshal De Mel, Research Economist, IPS, made a presentation on ‘South Asia and GATS’.

Presentations:

NAMA and iits Implications for South Asian Countries
Dr. Zafar Mahood, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics

South Asia and GATS
Deshal de Mel, Research Economist, IPS

Agriculture in the DDR & South Asian Positions
Anura Herath, Country Programme Officer, Sri Lanka, International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD)

Highlights in the Media:

http://www.lbo.lk/fullstory.php?nid=733420885

http://www.lbo.lk/fullstory.php?nid=1473424781

---

14 – 18 June, 2010

IPS was awarded a grant by the Poverty and Economic Policy Network (PEP) for a proposal on: “Will a Tax on Public Servants Improve Progressivity?” presented by Nisha Arunatilake at the 8th General Meeting of the Poverty and Economic Policy Research Network in Dakar, Senegal, during 14th to 18th June, 2010.

Faced with budget constraints, the Sri Lankan government entered into an International Monetary Fund Stand-by-Arrangement (IMF-SBA) for US$ 2.6 bn in 2009. Along with this facility, the government has committed to raising the revenue-to-GDP ratio from 14 per cent at present (2009) to 16.9 per cent of GDP by 2012. A recently appointed Presidential Commission on Taxation has proposed reforms for broadening the tax base and raising revenue.

The proposed study uses household income and expenditure data to assess the progressivity and horizontal inequity considerations of such a change in tax policy in the country.

The research team includes: Priyanka Jayawardena, Aushka Wijesinhe and Nethmini Perera.

24-25 May 2010

The Conference titled ‘Ten Years of the Indo-Lanka Free Trade Agreement(ILFTA)’ was organized by IPS, the Centre for WTO Studies - Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, the India-Sri Lanka Joint Business Council, and the Indo-Lanka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and took place on the 24th and 25th of May. The objective of this conference was to review the performance of the ILFTA, assess the benefits that have resulted, and also examine the pitfalls in the agreement where improvement is needed. Expert reviews and informed evaluations of this nature are necessary in order to improve upon existing trade policy measures such as the ILFTA to ensure that they fulfil their role in contributing to national development objectives.

There was strong stakeholder participation throughout the conference including representation from key private sector chambers such as the Ceylon National Chamber of Industries, National Chamber of Exporters, Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka. Major government departments such as the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Trade, Board of Investment, Export Development Board and the Ministry of Industrial Development were represented in the conference as well. The conference was also open to the general public upon prior registration and several members of the private sector, academia and civil society participated at the conference in this capacity.

Programme

Presentations:

Looking Back - Rationale for ILFTA:Objectives & Expectations
Saman Kelegama, Executive Director, IPS

Ten Years of the India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement: Achievements, Challenges & the Road Ahead
Indra Nath Mukherji, Senior Consultant, Research and Information System for Developing Countries, New Delhi

Outcomes of Ten Years of the ILFTA: Sri Lankan Perspectives
Deshal de Mel, Research Economist, IPS

Ten Years of India-Sri lanka FTA:Outcome and Indian Perspectives
Rajan Sudesh Ratna, Professor, Centre for WTO Studies, New Delhi

Ten Years of the India Lanka Trade Agreement
Saon Ray, Senior Fellow, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Research (ICRIER), New Delhi

Addressing Stakeholder Concerns: Implications For Negotiatiors
Rajan Sudesh Ratna, Professor, Centre for WTO Studies, New Delhi

Media Highlights

---

18 May 2010

Hon. Prof.Tissa Vitarana, Minister of Technology & Research, Mrs. Dhara Wijayatilake, Secretary of the Ministry and Prof. Sirimali Fernando, Adviser to the Ministry, visited IPS on 18th May, 2010. As per the new gazette notification, the IPS has been listed under the Ministry of Technology and Research and the Hon. Minister paid a visit to the IPS to obtain information on IPS research work.

Present at this meeting was Chairman, Executive Director and Senior Research staff of the IPS.

---

06 May 2010

The launch of the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific Report (ESCAP) Report took place at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI) on 6th May, 2010. The theme of the Report was ‘Surging Ahead in Uncertain Times’.

The Executive Director, IPS, made a presentation on: ‘Sri Lanka: From Economic Recovery to Sustainable Growth”. The ceremony was presided over by Tom Hockley, Head of UNRC Office, Sri Lanka. Dr.Muhammad Hussain Malik, Economic Affairs Officer of ESCAP presented the key findings of the ESCAP Report. Representatives of the government, private sector, several leading civil society organizations, and members of the media attended the event.

Highlights in the Media

http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2010/05/09/fin05.asp
http://www.nation.lk/2010/05/09/busi1.htm
http://www.dailymirror.lk/print/index.php/news/news/9986.html
http://www.dailynews.lk/2010/05/07/news01.asp
http://www.dailynews.lk/2010/05/07/bus01.asp
http://www.island.lk/2010/05/07/business1.html
http://www.island.lk/2010/05/07/business2.html
http://asiantribune.com/node/5378

---

04 May 2010

The Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS) in collaboration with the UNCTAD India, the Centre for WTO Studies, India, and the Commonwealth Secretariat, UK, organised a Stakeholder Consultation on production fragmentation in the textile and clothing sector in South Asia. The Consultation took place at the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel in Colombo on the 4th of May 2010.

In the context of the impacts of the global economic crisis on economic growth and trade, there is a pressing need for the region to enhance its competitiveness in key industrial sectors. The textiles and clothing sector is one of the biggest industries in the South Asian region and each country in the region has comparative advantages in different stages in the supply chain of the production of clothing for the international market. The Stakeholder Consultation was in support of a study that attempts to identify potential supply chains which can be formed in the region whereby production in some sectors can be fragmented across different countries in the region, with each country producing that part of the value-chain in which it is most efficient.

For production fragmentation in supply chains to successfully develop, there is a need to identify the potential constraints that may be faced by different producers/exporters in different countries in the region. In this context, wide-ranged industry consultations with stakeholders from different countries within the region become necessary. The objective of the industry consultation held in Colombo was to obtain the Sri Lankan industry perspectives on the following issues:

• Whether the potential supply chains identified by the study are possible to form, given the quality variance, delivery delays, etc., that may exists but not captured by the economic analysis.
  
  
• Identify the possible constraints that may emerge in fostering such supply chains, mainly the non-tariff barriers and other supply side constraints at the domestic level.
  
  
• Increase awareness of possible investment opportunities in the region

Several representatives from the textile and clothing trade sector in Sri Lanka were present at the consultation along with representatives from the Board of Investment, Export Development Board and academia. The discussions were intensive and fruitful, with several important issues being brought to the table including the importance of non-price factors in sourcing from South Asia (quality, reliability of delivery, etc.), the role of intra-regional investment in supporting production fragmentation and the necessity to include the support services in the value chain without limiting the analysis to merchandise trade.

26th April, 2010

A regional workshop on ‘Equity in the Delivery of Public Services in Selected Developing Member Countries’ took place on the 26th of April, 2010 at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) headquarters in Manila, Philippines.

Nisha Arunatilake made a presentation on ‘Sri Lanka: Experience and Best Practices in Public Service Delivery’ at this workshop. The workshop was organized as part of ADB’s strategy to strengthen inclusive growth.

Presentation

---

20-21st April, 2010

Deshal de Mel and Suwendrani Jayaratne represented the IPS at the ‘Roundtable on SAFTA: A Precursor to 16th SAARC Summit’ organized by SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce & Industry in collaboration with Friedrich Nauman Stiftung, during 20-21st April, 2010 in Kathmandu.

De Mel and Jayaratne made presentations on "The Cost of Non-Cooperation: The Emergence of Bilateral FTAs in SAARC" and "Trade Facilitation Issues in SAARC", respectively.

Presentation

---

16th April, 2010

IPS entered into a contract with Millennium Information Technologies to implement a state of art IT infrastructure in its New Building Complex, currently nearing completion, at the Independence Avenue, Colombo 07, Sri Lanka.

The Executive Director of IPS, Dr.Saman Kelegama and the Executive Vice President of the MIT, Mr.Faiq Faaiz signed the contract on the 16th of April 2010 at the IPS head office.

At completion, the solution will support a state of art Secure Local Area Network with Virtual Private Networking Capability and provide a Unified Communication Solution and a Secure Wireless Network covering the entire office premises which will enhance virtual team working facilities for IPS researchers. The solution is expected to be completed by August 2010 and the implementation will be carried out by MIT.

Following signing of the contract, the Executive Director also visited and inspected the building site and gave the necessary directives to the Engineering and Implementation team.

---

3 April, 2010

A conference on ‘Trade Facilitation in South Asia: Prospects and Challenges for Regional Integration’ organized by the SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI) in collaboration with the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI), took place at the FPCCI, Karachi, Pakistan on 3rd April, 2010.

Suwendrani Jayaratne, Research Assistant, IPS, made a presentation on ‘Trade Facilitation and Automation of Systems’, at the Conference.

Presentation

---

30th March – 02nd April 2010

IPS in collaboration with the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE) organized a Proposal Writing Workshop on Environmental Economics and Policy at Tangerine Beach Hotel, Kalutara, during 30 March – 02 April 2010.

The workshop intended to develop proposal writing skills of young, upcoming researchers of environmental economics and other related branches of knowledge, to introduce key current policy concerns and research themes of environmental economics and to encourage original research aimed at strengthening and upgrading efforts for sustainable development in Sri Lanka and South Asia region.

The workshop resource persons were Priya Shyamsundar, Programme Director, SANDEE, Parakrama Samaratunga, Research Fellow and Head of Agricultural Economic Policy Unit, IPS, M.N. Murty, Professor of Economics, Institute of Economic Growth, University Enclave, Pranab Mukhopadhyay, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Goa University, and Mani Nepal, Environmental Development Economist, SANDEE. The workshop was attended by researchers and academics engaged in environmental economics research in Sri Lanka.

Dr Parakrama Samaratunga, Research Fellow and Head of Agricultural Economic Policy Unit delivered the welcome address. The introductory speech was made by Dr Priya Shyamsundar, Programme Director, SANDEE. Dr Nihal Atapattu, Senior Development Officer of Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) made the key note presentation on “Environmental Economics for Informed Policy Making in Sri Lanka”. SANDEE grantees from IPS, Asha Gunawardena, Research Officer and Manoj Thibbotuwawa, Research Officer, also presented their SANDEE research work at the workshop.

01 March 2010

The book: “Promoting Economic Cooperation in South Asia – Beyond SAFTA” edited by Sadiq Ahmed, Saman Kelegama, and Ejaz Ghani, and published by Sage, India, was launched by the Foreign Secretary, Romesh Jayasinghe at the Galadari Hotel, Colombo on 1st March 2010 in the presence of a distinguished gathering. Two IPS Researchers, Dushni Weerakoon and Deshal de Mel contributed chapters to the book which contains 17 chapters.

Naoko Ishii, Country Director of the World Bank and Biplove Choudhary, Trade Specialist, Asia Pacific Trade and Investment Initiative, UNDP Regional Centre Colombo, spoke on behalf of the World Bank and the UNDP, respectively. Joint editors, Saman Kelegama and Ejaz Ghani spoke on the contents of the book and argued the case for deeper economic integration in the South Asian region. The proceedings were followed by cocktails and fellowship.

Speeches

Book Contents

SAGE - Publications Link

The World Bank Link

Media Highlights:

http://www.lbo.lk/fullstory.php?nid=469373109

http://www.thebottomline.lk/2010/03/03/news32.html

http://www.island.lk/2010/03/05/business7.html

http://www.island.lk/2010/03/05/business5.html

24 February 2010

Executive Director of the IPS briefed the visiting IMF delegation to Sri Lanka on the current state of the Sri Lankan economy and the progress of the Presidential Taxation Commission work on economic incentives. The IMF team was led by Kalpana Kochhar, Deputy Director, Asia Pacific Department, and included IMF Economists, Dan Nyberg and Shanaka Peiris, and IMF Resident Representative in Sri Lanka, Koshy Mathai. The meeting took place at the IPS Conference Room, 24 February 2010.

---

13th February 2010

Anushka Wijesinha, Research Officer, IPS made a presentation on “2010 and Beyond: Asia, South Asia and Sri Lanka” at the conference “Asian Trade: The Way Forward” organized by the Asian Development Dialogue held in association with the Department of Industries & Commerce, Government of Kerala, in Trivandrum, India on 13th February 2010.

The discussions centered around the prospects for Asian countries of a recovery from the global economic crisis, the need for greater cooperation in South Asia to leverage on the growth of India and East Asia and India’s increasing role in the evolving international trade scenario.

The conference was chaired by Hon. Sashi Tharoor, Minister of State for External Affairs of the Government of India and former UN Under-Secretary General.

11-15 January 2010

Parakrama Samaratunga, Research Fellow and Head of Agricultural Economic Policy Unit, made a presentation on “A Note on Agricultural Issues of Sri Lanka” in the parallel working sessions on “Shaping Agriculture and Trade Policies in Sub Saharan Africa & South Asia” at the 11th Annual Global Development Conference organized by Global Development Networks (GDN), 11-15 January 2010, Prague, Czech Republic.

He also made a presentation on “Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on the Sri Lankan Economy” in a session on “Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on South Asia”