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Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja, Chair of the Global Economy Programme (supported by Dilmah) at LKI, made an invited presentation on Commercial Diplomacy, on 24 July 2017 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The presentation was attended by the Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Esala Weerakoon, and over 30 Foreign Ministry officials, including, Ms. Grace Asirwatham, Mr. A. L. A. Azeez, Mr. M. M. Jaffeer, and Ms. Sashikala Premawardhane.

Dr. Wignaraja’s presentation was delivered as part of the Foreign Ministry’s new “Brown Bag” series. This initiative involves a series of seminars that provide an opportunity for participants to discuss new ideas and research on topics relevant to Sri Lanka’s foreign policy.

In his presentation, Dr. Wignaraja provided an evidence-based analysis of Sri Lanka’s trade performance, which has remained satisfactory despite the regional trend of slow growth. To help catalyse Sri Lanka’s export growth, Dr. Wignaraja highlighted trade opportunities that Sri Lanka can take advantage of as China moves up the global value chain and sheds its labour-intensive production networks.

It was followed by an interactive discussion with all participants, which was chaired by Ms. Grace Asirwatham, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka.

The discussion was conducted under the Chatham House Rule.