Bank of Ceylon’s Chairman, President’s Counsel Ronald C. Perera joined the ‘Belt and Road Initiatives - Bankers Roundtable’ held recently in Beijing, China.
He was the only Sri Lankan participant at this summit. The Bankers Roundtable was conducted in line with the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ forum that took place on May 15, 2017, in China.
The event was hosted by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). With the bank’s strong ties with many of these international banks and the importance of its role in the Sri Lankan banking industry, Bank of Ceylon was invited to represent the country at this forum and was able to further strengthen its ties and collaboration with these international banking giants such as ICBC, Asian Development Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Citibank, Bank of China, J.P. Morgan and Chase, Habib Bank Pakistan, and many other leading foreign banks.
BOC Chairman, President’s Counsel Ronald C. Perera exchanged his opinion and views about ‘Joint effects of banking sector in supporting the Belt and Road initiatives: from guidelines to action’ and discussed matters pertaining to these ‘initiatives’ with delegates who participated in the roundtable discussion.
President’s Counsel Perera spoke of the history of cooperation between China and Sri Lanka which spread over a 1,000 years and also the present Chinese investment in Sri Lanka setting out the importance of Sri Lanka as a maritime and economic hub in the Indian Ocean.
Stating that the Indian Ocean remains the key to Asian prosperity, he said that the Indian Ocean envisages at its core, an ocean free of conflict, despite competing economic interest, with lanes of comfort, ease and safety of passage, freedom of navigation, and secure and sustainable use of resources for economic advancement of states in an equitable manner.
He said in order to fully tap this potential the Government of Sri Lanka will engage in initiatives with China and regional players who have major economic stakes in the Indian Ocean.
“Bank of Ceylon will continue to cooperate with GOSL to implement various development projects to facilitate and enhance the operation of the country as a maritime and an economic hub in the Indian Ocean and will participate in projects brought by ‘Belt and Road Initiatives’, he said.
The BOC Chairman was also interviewed by Chinese television about his thoughts on opportunities that ‘Belt and Road Initiatives’ can bring to Sri Lanka and China in their joint efforts for cooperation.
The initiative looks into key areas: cultural exchanges, policy coordination, facilitating connectivity, financial integration, trade, investment and infrastructure development. The motive of the Bankers Forum was to discuss the boosting of their presence under the ‘Belt and Road Initiatives’ and to seek closer partnerships for project financing.
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