Search teams which which reached the site had found burnt out wreckage and charred bodies.

Turkey produces advanced NATO-compatible drones.

The weather in the area was bad and visibility was low with foggy conditions, which also hampered teams on the ground, but there is no information on the exact reason for the crash.

RELATED Possible crash site of Iran President’s helicopter helicopter probed: IRNA

President Raisi was returning from a border region with Azerbaijan after opening a dam project.

Two other helicopters which took off with the President’s helicopter had landed safely.

The helicopter is believed to be a US made Bell 212/412 Iran acquired before sanctions hit the country and may be very old.

The crash site is an area called Tawil, the report said.

Turkey’s high-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle named Akinji also detected a hot spot that probably belongs to the place where the helicopter crashed, IRNA said.

Rescuers are looking for a helicopter which crashed or forced landed with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on board in bad weather, the Iranian news agency said.

President Raisi was returning from a border region with Azerbaijan after opening a dam project.

Domestic and international teams are looking for the helicopter which went down in mountainous terrain in bad weather.

Rescuers are also hampered by dense fog, reports said.

Two other helicopters which took off with the President’s helicopter has landed safely.

The helicopter is believed to be a US made Bell 212/412 Iran acquired before sanctions hit the country and may be very old. (Colombo/May20/2024)

IMF’s executive directors asked for co-ordinated actions to with fiscal authorities to facilitate necessary monetary policy actions to safeguard the exchange rate peg.

“To this end, they commended the authorities’ decisive action to discontinue the exceptional use of the Maldives Monetary Authority advances, and underscored that this should be complemented by more active liquidity management over time,” an IMF statement said.

“Directors also encouraged an acceleration of foreign exchange market reforms to enhance the credibility of the peg.”

In 2023, Maldives’ current account deficit had widened amid foreign borrowings to finance capital spending also due to a run down of reserves after printing money for temporary advances.

The advances have since been converted to long term bonds but, official reserves fell from 832 million dollars in 2022 to 589 million dollars in 2024.

The Maldives is the richest country in South Asia due to maintaining its soft-dollar peg with some success despite hiccups from money printing from time to time.

The rufiyaa’s peg to the US dollar has only broken a few times and is now at 15.4 to the US dollar.

In 2022 inflation was only 1.9 percent. Without breaking the dollar peg a monetary authority cannot create very high levels of inflation above that of the USA.

In supporting the Maldives peg, the IMF is sticking to its founding principles of maintaining stable currencies and allowing free trade to take place.

From 1978, after its the Second Amendment external anchors were discouraged and countries like Maldive’s neighbor Sri Lanka started to have high levels of depreciation, inflation and social unrest as well as failed free market reforms.

In the Covid crisis the peg held despite a 30 percent contraction in the economy as tourism collapsed.

All South Asian currencies are derived from the Indian rupee at 4.70 to the US dollar.

Its budget deficit suddenly started to rise due to infrastructure projects – some financed by China – and also higher public sector salaries.

The debt to GDP ratio was 118 percent.

“The successful implementation of goods and services tax (GST) rate hikes has borne fruit, bringing sizable revenue windfalls in 2023,” the IMF notice said.

“Nevertheless, the overall fiscal deficit is estimated to reach13.4 percent of GDP in 2023, with public debt to rise further to 118.7 percent of GDP in 2023.”

A World Bank – IMF debt sustainability analysis has found that its was unsustainable without significant policy changes, the Maldives remains at high risk of external and overall debt distress.”

There were protracted breaches in several debt indicators over the medium term making the assessment of debt unsustainable.
“Gross external financing needs are expected to rise in the coming years, reflecting persistently large fiscal deficits and repayments and rollovers of nonconcessional debt, mainly global sukuk,” a staff report said.

“External refinancing pressures are expected to peak in 2026.

“Increasingly higher amortizations and large interest payments would trigger protracted breaches in
several debt indicators by 2026, similar to the previous DSA.

“The debt dynamics will remain vulnerable to adverse shocks in growth, interest rates, and fiscal position in the near term.” (Colombo/May15/2024)

But that would require changes in policies and regulations to boost investor confidence and protection of digital content, they note.

Bhutan’s economy is currently driven by the hydropower and tourism industries. But, as Dr Uwe Drager of the German Bhutan Himalaya Society, keynote speaker at the webinar on “Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Economic Growth in Bhutan” pointed out, for the country to maximise the output of their industries, especially in the agriculture sector, better planning, coordination and the introduction of standard technology and procedures must be in place.

Another area where approval procedures pose problems is solar power.

It’s an economy that struggles without a convertible currency he says. Less than twenty per cent of the GDP falls under the primary sector which also employs more than fifty per cent of the population, he explains, adding that the secondary sector which holds 34.2 per cent employs just ten per cent, while 46.6 per cent which is the tertiary sector accounts for 35 per cent of employment.

The webinar on November 17, was organised by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, South Asia and moderated by Sangye Choiphel, a researcher at the Centre for Bhutan and GNH studies. Panelists for the webinar included Ujjwal Deep Dahal, CEO, Druk Holding and Investment, Tshering Denkar of Denkars Getaway, a travel Blogger and Vlogger and Nyema Zam, Founder and CEO of Samuh Mediatech.

The webinar also featured a Guest Speaker, Rikesh Gurung the President of the Bhutan Association of Entrepreneurs (BAEyul) who said he would like to see policymakers move away from the hydropower and tourism model, to a more resilient and diversified economy.  Innovation, he said leads to empowerment and creativity helps adapt to change.  Bhutanese, he says must be like international personalities Bill Gates and Richard Branson, and think outside the box.  “The youth of the country must be innovative and creative in their ideas for business.”

Combining technology with the arts, Nyema Zam’s Samuh Mediatech, though catering to a small segment of the population within and outside the country, is providing direct and indirect job opportunities for Bhutanese; still a fledgling operation, her business has opened up over a 1000 positions for screenwriters, sub-title writers and translators, and she is confident of creating more than 2000 jobs within Bhutan, and 5000 more across the Himalayan nations. 

There’s huge potential, Zam explains, pointing out that despite being small population-wise, Bhutan’s use of social media is high.  Through effective marketing, that could easily be exploited to improve the economy, as almost all Bhutanese are Facebook users. Samuh Mediatech grew organically, first promoting content and subscriptions through Facebook and later via Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube. “We promoted ourselves with the lowest costs possible, with high returns,” Zam notes, adding that Bhutan can create content for a fraction of what it costs elsewhere in the world.

While Bhutan’s film industry has been struggling for more than two decades, Samuh Mediatech, the first OTT platform in the country has produced more than a hundred pieces of original content in less than a year. Among them “Why is the Sky Dark at Night”, a short -film, produced on a shoestring budget was picked for the 26th Busan International Film Festival in South Korea.

Travel Blogger and Vlogger Tshering Denkar agrees that social media helps break boundaries. Her passion for showcasing Bhutanese life and local communities soon attracted foreign interest.  And in 2022, she was picked to co-star with Will Smith in the National Geographic ‘Pole to Pole” series. The advantage of being a small country, says Denkar, is the ease of getting exposure for the work one does; in her case, the content she put out crossed boundaries. Her opportunity to work on the ‘Pole to Pole’ series did not come through government entities tasked with promoting tourism, she points out.  It was the content she put out and the exposure it received that got her that opportunity.

Speaking of several initiatives involving local and international partnerships, Dahal says Bhutan must look at the global challenges and find solutions. “It is not about technology leading entrepreneurship, but creative minds coming together to meet the fundamental needs.” When a solution is found for an issue that concerns a large number of people, it is good for business, he says, pointing out that challenges must be turned into opportunities.

Bhutan, which recently launched a digital identity system, has several local and international collaborations for a digitally driven economy, says Dahal, adding that whatever model is chosen, it must be suitable for the country.

Despite the successes, there are many challenges say the panellists. In the case of the media sector, classification for small enterprises is almost non-existent, and investors continue to look for buildings and properties as collateral rather than the content the business has to offer. Anything that is valued at less than 10 million Ngultrum does not even fall into the category of CSI, says Zam. If the digital economy is to flourish, then there must be a value placed on intellectual property.

The lack of local expertise to build a world-class OTT platform means seeking that service from overseas providers; in the case of Samuh Mediatech, that comes from Singapore and Lebanon.

Current regulations allow only content produced in Dzongkha, the official language of Bhutan or English. That must change says Zam, to include pan-Himalayan languages, allowing content from Bhutan and countries from the region to reach a larger viewership. Her target is to reach 6 to 8 million consumers.

Cyber security is all-important says Denkar who had her content stolen, but had no recourse through local stakeholders to retrieve it.  It was through an agent based in the Philippines that she was able to contact the parent company of Facebook and Instagram to gain access to her material. Denkar also wants to see more awareness amongst Bhutanese on digital literacy and copyright.

She had also been fined for using a drone for her work, and questions why, if other industries are allowed to do so, it is not open to the creative sector.

Dahal meanwhile advocates a different approach to regulation; create first, push the boundaries, then regulation will follow. He points to Google and Facebook as examples, which came under global scrutiny, years after those platforms were launched.

“We don’t approve of this. We urge the necessary food to be dispatched, not just through Egypt, but through Israel as well,” Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday at an event held in Mannar to celebrate Milad Un Nabi.

Wickremesinghe was referring to the humanitarian crisis and necessary aid not being able to be dispatched to the besieged enclave.

Rafah, a city located in the southernmost part of the strip bordering Egypt, is the main route used to deliver relief to 2.3 million residents on the strip, as it is not controlled by Israel. 

The crossing had been “out of operation” after a total blockade had been imposed by Israel on October 7. 

On October 21 a convoy of 20 trucks containing medical aid, coffins, food, and water entered Gaza through Rafah, followed by a second convoy of 17 trucks that entered the enclave on Sunday.

“Twenty food trucks have been dispatched to the Gaza strip. Are 20 trucks enough to feed 2 million people? Palestinians in the Gaza strip are trapped as Israel and Hamas wage war,” Wickremesinghe said.

United Nations officials say at least 100 trucks a day in supplies are required to meet urgent needs within the strip, and that any delivery in aid should be sustained and at scale.

“Israel-Hamas tensions are a separate conflict, therefore the Palestinian citizens should not be embroiled in this conflict,” he said.

“We are committed to providing our full support to the Secretary-General of the United Nations Security Council in resolving the matter and bringing peace to the region. A Palestinian state needs to be created.”

On October 13, the President had expressed the same sentiment, emphasising the geopolitical and economic consequences that could stem from the intensifying conflict, at the Galle Dialogue.

“Destroying Hamas is one thing, but what’s the reaction if you go and destroy Gaza? If you go into Gaza the whole Middle East will go up in flames and that will affect all of us, from Turkey to the Philippines,” he said. 

Wickremesinghe pointed out that the doctrine preached by the Holy Prophet exists in Sri Lanka today. “When the Prophet preached this doctrine, people of different faiths coexisted in the region without issues.”

“Our policy is to treat all religions equally, and our aim is to provide equal rights to everyone. The Muslim community here faces certain challenges, and I would like to state that the government is actively working to address them.” (Colombo/October23/2023)

Maldives’ Sun online reported that Muizza had called for national unity.

“Each Maldivian citizen is equal before me,” he was quoted as saying in a statement. “No matter their political affiliation, they are a Maldivian citizen in front of me. They are entitled to the same rights. They are entitled to equality in everything,”

The Maldives Progressive Party was formed by longtime Maldives leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

The breakaway People’s National Congress was formed by Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, who is currently in prison for on corruption charges. His rule saw borrowings from China for infrastructure.

Muizzu has vowed to free Yameen, currently serving an 11-year sentence for corruption on the same prison island where he had jailed many of his political opponents during his tenure.

Muizzu has promised to free Yameen and on Saturday urged outgoing president outgoing president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to use his executive power and transfer Yameen to house arrest, AFP, a news agency reported. (Colombo/Oct01/2023)

“Import controls were imposed on more than 3,000 items during the crisis period. ” Minister Siyambalapititya was quoted as saying at a meeting in Avissawella.

“We are removing import restrictions from time to time after an in-depth analysis. There cannot be another economic crisis from removing restrictions. A country cannot go on with import controls.”

In 2021 and 2022, import controls failed to stop the crisis as large volumes of money were printed to cut rates and the liquidity went as credit to investments which then triggered imports of building materials and capital goods.

Siyambalapitiya told reporters that on August 03, when import bans on 300 items were lifted that only 1 percent of the import bill of the country was spent on the items over the previous 5 years.

“We’re always talking about negative growth,” he said at the time. “For economic growth to be positive, for the economy to expand, a country needs free trade, particular free international trade.”

As long as imports are funded by earned money from abroad there is no pressure on the currency.

However pressure on the currency comes when the central bank injects liquidity to cut rates with newly created money, which then results in reserve losses.

Speaking to reporters, yesterday (20), Siyambalapitiya said, “We had to suspend more than 3000 HS codes in order to prevent outflows in our reserves. We have now increased the value in the reserves beyond 3 billion dollars.

Considering the needs of a positive economy, the most important aspect of expansion is to have sufficient facilities towards a global market.”(Colombo/Aug21/2023)

The debt restructuring will be among the topics to be included during the discussion, one source said.

Macron visit comes a month after Wickremesinghe went to Paris on the invitation of Macron and took part in the Global Leaders’ Summit for a New Global Financing Pact.

At the summit and during meetings with world leaders attending the summit held from June 22-25, Wickremesinghe explained Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring measures which are linked to the release of the second tranche of the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility in September.

Sri Lanka is one of four countries in the world, selected by the International Olympic Committee to give financial support the forest regeneration. 

“In order to face the future generations with various environmental impacts, forests and plantations should be created as much as possible, and wastelands should be turned into forests,” Pavithra Wanniyarachi, Minister of Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation said. 

To help future generations facing environmental impacts as much bare lands as possible should be turned into forested areas, Wildlife Forest Resources Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said in a statement.

Sri Lanka’s Department of Forest Conservation has agreed to provide 100 pr 200 acres of bare lands to grow forests.

The IOC would provide financial support for the program. Sri Lanka Olympic Committee Chairman Suresh Subramanium and General Secretary Maxwell de Silva had helped bring the program to th island, the statement said. (Colombo/July04/2023)

The fourth Joint Commision between Sri Lanka and the Maldives will be held in Colombo on June 6 and 7, the Foreign Ministry said.

Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry, will co-chair the Joint Commission with his counterpart Abdulla Shahid.

The meeting will also be opportune for discussions on education, health, employment, youth, sports and skills development, consular and cultural affairs.

On the sidelines of the Joint Commission, several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) will also be signed, the statement said. (Colombo/June05/2023)

As in many Asian countries, CSOs or Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) as they are also known, are viewed with suspicion, often accused of being agents of foreign powers and dollar hungry. In Bhutan, CSOs are also viewed as family businesses and self-serving.

But in Bhutan now, things seem to be changing. As Executive Director of Bhutan Transparency Initiative (BTI), Dr Rinzin Rinzin told a webinar recently, not only is the media looking at CSOs in a better light, they even promote them now. CSOs play an oversight role he adds, and have gained the trust of the judiciary, which opened itself up for assessment.

The findings, he said were shared at a live Talk Show.

Dr Rinzin, along with Dr Chencho Lhamu, Executive Director, Bhutan Centre for Media and Democracy, and Sangay Tshering, President of the Loden Foundation, was speaking at a webinar ‘Empowering Bhutan’s Civil Society: Overcoming Challenges and Finding Solutions’ organised by the Friedrich Nauman Foundation for Freedom, South Asia, on May 26th. The discussion was moderated by Multimedia Journalist Namgay Zam.

The attitudinal change comes following initiatives by BTI and the Bhutan Media Foundation which conducted awareness programmes on the functions of CSOs to Editors and Reporters to dispel misconceptions.

As Dr Rinzin points out, media is the main conduit for information sharing between various sectors and the public, and having the media better understand the workings and role of CSOs helps.
There is, also now, clarity on registered CSOs versus volunteer groups, he adds. In the coming months, similar initiatives are planned to educate leaders and elected government members of local government.

Bhutan currently has 54 Registered CSOs, working in the areas of poverty alleviation, youth, good governance, caring and rehabilitation, environment, animal welfare, arts and culture to name some. There are also registered community-based groups working with farmers, for instance, while some non-formal groups are involved in supporting youth and women.

With a view to strengthening the role of civil society in improving Bhutan’s social welfare services, Parliament passed the CSO Act in 2007, and in 2016 the King of Bhutan bestowed the National Order of Merit (Gold) on civil society as a whole, in recognition of its contribution to nation building.

CSOs have also collaborated in developing important documents such as the 21st Century Economic Roadmap, revisions and amendments of the Information, Communication and Media (ICM) Act 2018, LGBTQI issues, National Policy for Persons with Disabilities 2019, National Policy for Persons with Disabilities 2019, National Sanitation & Hygiene Policy 2017, Rules & Regulations for Entrepreneurs, etc., a briefing note from FNF states.

More recently, in May this year in fact, the Parliament of Bhutan and Civil Society Organisations, released a Strategy Document, which seeks to increase CSO involvement in the parliamentary and decision-making processes, thereby improving democratic governance. Yet another joint effort is the Government, CSO Collaboration Guidelines (Draft).

CSOs have contributed to the welfare of more than 50,000 households, about 30 per cent of that nation’s population, the webinar heard. CSOs also generate employment opportunities and revenue.

To ensure inclusiveness and better representation, CSOs formed the Bhutan Civil Society Network which is governed by a ten-member Executive Committee. To counter criticisms, CSOs examined their internal mechanisms and came up with the Bhutan Civil Society Organisations Accountability Standards 2023.

Dr Rinzin added that for the third time, they were chosen to carry out a national study on the environment. The information gathered sheds light on the types and levels of corruption, a database useful for the government.

Social accountability training at the grassroots level, raising awareness on their rights, and providing assessment techniques are paying off says Dr Rinzin, who stated that following an assessment of a village road by the local residents, the contractor had been forced to redo it.
Yet, CSOs continue to face many challenges, the webinar heard.

The role of CSOs remains unclear in the minds of the people, says Dr Chencho Lhamu, often identifying them as being government or private sector entities. There still needs to be more clarity on the work carried out by CSOs, she says, adding that in mature democracies, unlike in Bhutan, CSOs are more than entities that simply complement and supplement government services.

While CSO are ‘clear about their own mandate’ and are faithful in meeting those goals, they can do more in influencing government, and be part of the policy dialogue, she adds.

Following the introduction of the CSO Act, registration is granted following a rigorous vetting process, which, though good, also deters other smaller groups, Dr Lhamu explains.

A main issue of concern is funding, both external and from within the country. Though Bhutanese give generously to religious and affiliated organisations, they are not as forthcoming in providing financial support to CSOs states Dr Lhamu. This could be because the public does not see tangible evidence of the services provided by CSOs, she adds. With the economy as it is, points out Sangay Tshering, the Private sector, even if willing, is unable to commit to providing financial help.

Dr Rinzin would like to see more regional and international supports to address the issue, and also the establishment of an endowment fund with the assistance of development partners. Nordic governments even set aside funds in their budgets for CSOs says Dr Rinzin. Moderator Namgay Zam explains that to ensure integrity, CSOs pick funding partners only if they are ‘aligned’ with their own principles and if the project is beneficial to the people. On the flip side, Sangay Tshering argues that funding partners too must be satisfied that Bhutanese organisations are committed to carrying out the work.

There is also the issue of foreign funding being seen as interference with the nation’s internal affairs. However, Dr Rinzin is of the opinion that with the collaborations entered into between the government and CSOs, and parliamentarians displaying an eagerness for inputs from CSOs, such suspicions may die a natural death. CSOs, he says must be tactful in their actions.

Dr Chencho also says it is important for CSOs to keep in mind that their work is in line with national plans and that message must be made clear to all.

CSOs are also affected whenever Bhutan calls an election. Laws prohibit grassroots-based work in the months running up to an election. This means a year-long project undertaken by a CSO, must be completed within a shorter duration, severely impacting programmes.

Responding to a question on the role of women and CSO initiatives, Dr Chencho explains that to an extent, women and women-related issues are addressed. Some CSOs work to promote women in politics, while others deal with the rights of the LGBTQ community. However, she acknowledges that CSOs aren’t advocating enough for women.

Like many other South Asian nations, Bhutan too is dealing with a heavy migration pattern, with many younger folk leaving for greener pastures. Says Sangay Tshering, since Bhutan opened up to the world, more Bhutanese feel they need to strike out in ‘fear of missing out.’ The Loden Foundation provides seed money to entrepreneurs, and several of those who were recipients and who have migrated, are now able to make monthly repayments. They also continue to keep their enterprises running in Bhutan. Had they remained, he asks, with the economy in its current state, could they have returned the loans? As it stands, they have now become better contributors to the economy.

Chencho points out that migration is inevitable when there are better opportunities beyond Bhutan’s borders. Her contention is that with real transformation and enabling policies that would allow for all sectors to flourish, migration could be mitigated.

The Korea nstitute for Technology will grant 5.2 million US dollars to sri Lnaka’s Sustainable Energy Authority the two plants.

They will be built on the Chandrika Wewa in the Sabaragamuwa province and the Kiri Ibban Wewa in the Uva Province by Korean engineering firms.

The project would be be completed by December 2024, Wijesekara said. (Colombo/May31/2023)

Wickremesinghe made these comments when he addressed at “Nikkei Forum: Future of Asia‟ held in Tokyo, Japan today on Thursday (25) and highlighted the importance of Asian states having a voice in shaping the region’s role amidst the evolving geopolitics on the global stage.

“We in Asia don’t want to choose between the U.S. and China,” Wickremesinghe told the gathering.

“Many of us cannot make that choice because we have already made our choice, and that choice is Asia,” he said.

Future of Asia is an international gathering where political, economic, and academic leaders from the Asia-Pacific region offer their opinions frankly and freely on regional issues and the role of Asia in the world.

The forum has been held by Nikkei every year since 1995 and it is considered to be one of the most important global conferences in Asia.

Wickremesinghe, invited in his capacity as Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister for the forum , said that all the Asian nations have benefited from the cooperation between the US and China in the post-Cold War era, but the subsequent rapid rise of China and the inability of the two countries to agree on China‟s role on the international stage have led to rivalry, which he referred as “needless tensions in our part of the world”.

China has launched an ambitious Belt Road Initiative (BRI) covering mainly Asia and Africa while the US, as an alternative, has pushed for Indo-Pacific Strategy in the region, stretching from our Pacific coastline to the Indian Ocean, home to more than half of the world’s people, nearly two-thirds of the world’s economy, and seven of the world’s largest militaries.

“We want an Asia that can accommodate the Indo-Pacific, the BRI, as well as the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo- Pacific,” Wickremesinghe said.

“The BRI is a strategy to increase China‟s influence in Asia and Africa through economic means. We, the members of the BRI, have no security arrangements with China, nor do we intend to enter into any security agreements with China.”

“The Indo-Pacific is an evolving concept with unanswered questions.”

Center of Geopolitics

Sri Lanka has become the center of geopolitical war between China and the US in South Asia with India, the world’s sixth largest economy is being a strong ally of the US. The island nation has been under pressure by both India and the West for allowing Chinese investments into the country, citing possible security concerns in the Indian Ocean, government sources have said.

Wickremesinghe said the US – China rivalry has given rise to a number of responses by the West especially to economic coercion and weaponizing of economic vulnerabilities.

“Yet some of these responses may result in a setback to trade integration in the region. Unlike the West, Asia is dominated by middle-income and low-income economies.”

“Of the 12 high-income economies in Asia, only 6 are outside West Asia. The rest of us, including China, India, and Indonesia, are middle income economies. We have to overcome the middle-income trap of economic stagnation.”

In addition to economic coercion, Wickremesinghe said, economic decoupling in which different asset classes that typically rise and fall together start to move in opposite directions, and similar measures contrary to the World Trade Organization rules are other impediments to trade integration.

“Needless to say that we in Sri Lanka and many other Asian nations are opposed to economic coercion: whether it be by one country coercing another using its economic power; or by indirect methods such as de-coupling, or friend-shoring – manufacturing and sourcing only from geopolitical allies – contrary to the WTO,” he said.

“Thus, the WTO system put in place three decades ago should not be by-passed for short term geo-strategic gains. The rules of the game cannot be changed arbitrarily. The losers will be the middle-income Asian countries.” (Colombo/May 25/2023)

The 68th annual convention of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) is set to be held from July 6 to 9, 2023, occupying around 400 agents in the travel industry.

“The event will mainly be about their working sessions, various different angles of the tourism industry etc,”Nishan Wijetunga, the President of Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) , told Economy Next. 

 “But the fact that we can get 450 agents to come into Sri Lanka and experience it as it will be a positive outcome for the tourism board.”

 Sri Lanka expected a boom in MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) tourist arrivals this year mainly led by India as the country gradually recovers from the economic crisis from last year.

MICE tourism, which showed a gradual increase in 2018, declined drastically following a series of crises started with the easter sunday attack in 2019.

“This event will increase the numbers and the exposure for Sri Lanka as it will take away the negative news about the country”, Wijetunge said. 

The conference is expecting around 450 travel agents from India joined by 50 media personalities.

“TAAI is the oldest and the largest association of India as we are mostly into outbound tourism and we will be coming with nearly 450 agents,” Jyoti Mayal the President of the Travel Agents Association of India told Economy Next. 

“Even if 10 percent of them start doing business, India will continue to be the number one source market for Sri Lanka”, 

Sri Lanka is expecting 1.55 million tourists in 2023 led by visitors from India as the island nation saw 9,323 arrivals from May in this month. 

In 2019, before the Coronavirus crisis hit, Sri Lanka welcomed 1.9 million tourists, out of which 355,002 tourists were from India. 

 Sri Lanka witnessed a total of 123,004 tourist arrivals from India for the whole year, in 2022. 

The country saw 36,100 tourist arrivals from May 1 -14 and the total number of tourist arrivals for the year so far is 477,277. (Colombo/ May 20/2023)

At least two people have been confirmed dead after the Chinese fishing vessel Lupeng Yuanyu 028 with 39 crew members on board capsized in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday (16).

The distant-water fishing vessel capsized with 17 Chinese sailors, 17 Indonesians and five Filipinos on board, international media have reported.

Indian Navy said “in a swift humanitarian action” on May 17, it deployed its “Air MR assets in the Southern Indian Ocean Region approximately 900 nautical miles from India.

“Truly appreciate the timely help！,” the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi said in its twitter feed, responding to a twitter from Indian Navy.

Truly appreciate the timely help！ https://t.co/hHUDNW2ndL

— Embassy of The People's Republic of China in India (@China_Amb_India) May 18, 2023

Both India and China have been rivals amid concerns that Beijing was in the process of spreading its military operations in the Indian Ocean.

Sri Lanka has been at the focal point of the geopolitical war between the two Asian giants with China has loaned to the island nation billions of dollars mostly for infrastructure projects including some with negative returns of investments.

India has repeatedly raised increasing Chinese influence in Sri Lanka. (Colombo/May 20/2023)

The Free trade agreement hopes to increase exports to the Asian nation, Cabinet Spokesman Bandula Gunawardana said.

The first round of discussions between the two nations happened in 2016 followed by a second round in 2018. The latest talks were on January 09-10, 2023.

The fourth round of talks on the proposed FTA held in Colombo on March 27-29, and to hold the next round of negotiations on June 27-28 in Colombo.

The agreement is expected to increase the current export value of 550 million US dollars per annum to 1.5 billion US dollars. (Colombo/ May10/2023)

In a budget for 2023, President Ranil Wickremesinghe had said that paid wards will be set up in national and base hospitals, starting with the Colombo National hospital.

“There is a paying ward system in our general hospitals,” Gunawardana said.

“By expanding it we hope to provide that service in a better way while keeping the free medical services available”

State workers covered by ‘Agrahara’ life insurance and other insurance facilities while many have inquired regarding paying wards in government hospitals, the statement said. (Colombo/ May09/2023)

“The Joint Commission will deliberate on a broad range of bilateral and multilateral issues of mutual interest to both sides and discuss areas for future cooperation,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“The European Union delegation will brief on the new cycle of the EU GSP Regulation to be adopted for 2024 – 2033, which will be effective from 1 January 2024 for the next 10 years.”

The outcome of the three Working Groups established under the Joint Commission namely, the Working Group on Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights; the Working Group on Trade and Economic Cooperation; and the Working Group on Development Cooperation will also be discussed at the meeting.

The meeting co-chaired by Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka Aruni Wijewardane and Deputy Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific of the European External Action Service of the EU Paola Pampaloni will be held in Colombo on May 09.

The MoU will be signed between the Customs and the Australian Border Force.

“The aim of the MoU is to do custom operations according to the legal frame work, policies and the process in both countries,” a statement said.

The clearance by the Attorney General has already being given to the draft of the MoU.

“This MoU is highly important specially in trade activates between the two countries” Minister Gunawardana told reporters at the cabinet briefing on Wednesday. (Colombo/ May 03/2023)

He will be accompanied by Director General of the Department of External Resources Ajith Abeysekera.

“The Foreign Minister will deliver a statement at the Governor’s Business Session on 4 May 2023 among other interventions during the period,” the statement said.

Minister Sabry will meet with the counterparts of a number of other countries on the sidelines of the event, to discuss Sri Lanka’s ongoing engagements for economic revival.

“The Annual Meeting is a high-level event attended by around 3,000-4,000 participants, including Ministers of Finance, Governors of Central Banks, Senior Officials of the major global banks, companies and media.”  (Colombo/ April 28/2023)