Nov. 12 – The Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF) begins today in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and will last until the 14th of November. The Forum is titled “Partnering for Wealth Creation and Social Development: The Commonwealth, Indian Ocean and SAARC.” The CBF is co-organized by the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) and the government of Sri Lanka.
The CBC describes the CBF as “the premier business event in the Commonwealth bringing together Heads of Government, Ministers, and top business leaders from around the world and will be attended by over a thousand delegates.”
The purpose of the CBF is to allow business and government leaders to create a dialogue on trade and investment issues. The current Forum will focus on regional development, sustainable growth of rural economies, tourism and hospitality.
The event will not just be attended by Commonwealth members but also by a large number of other countries including Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, France, Japan, Israel, Switzerland, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Peru, and the United States. In total, the CBF will have over 1,000 delegates.
Although the Prime Ministers of Canada and India will not attend the event, both countries are sending sizeable delegations (with India sending the second most delegates). The United Kingdom will bring the largest delegation in CBF history, followed by China, India and Japan.
Speaking of the potential for partnership in the fast growing region of the Indian Ocean Rim, Mohan Kaul, director general of the CBC, says there are “tremendous opportunities for enhancing pan-Commonwealth trade and investment and contribute to the regional economies. ”
According to Neomal Perera, Sri Lanka’s Deputy Minister of External Affairs, the country wishes to use the CBF as a vehicle for increasing investment within the country so that it can become a hub for shipping, aviation, education, and energy. It also wants to attract investment into fields such as agriculture, infrastructure development and irrigation.
Historically, the host country always benefits greatly as a result of the forum. The CBF predicts that Sri Lanka should reap an opportunity worth approximately US$2 billion.
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