State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe led the Sri Lanka Delegation to the 11th Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (11th APFSD) in Bangkok, Thailand

The State Minister of Finance, Shehan Semasinghe led the Sri Lanka Delegation to the 11th Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (AFPSD) at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) held from 20th to 23rd February 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand.

State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe participated at the high level panel discussion of the associated event under the theme of ‘New Frontiers on Social Protection in a Changing World – Towards a vision for shared progress in Asia Pacific’ on 19th February 2024. During his remarks he stated that the social protection reforms became one of the priority reform agendas of the Government of Sri Lanka which has enabled the Government to pursue critical reforms in the tax structure, utility pricing and State Owned Enterprises reforms knowing that poor and vulnerable households will be protected through alternative mechanisms. The State Minister emphasized that the comprehensive macroeconomic reform initiatives are yielding positive outcomes, evidenced by the early indications of stabilization and growth, the eradication of shortages with ample foreign exchange liquidity in the banking system, the removal of most import restrictions, a significant decline in inflation from 70% to 6.4% by January 2024, and the appreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee.

After the opening remarks made by Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, delivered special remarks and the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J. Mohammed delivered the keynote speech at the inauguration.

The Forum undertook an in-depth review of the region’s progress on Sustainable Development Goal 1 (No Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger), 13 (Climate Action), 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). The outcomes will feed into the global High-Level Political Forum in July and the Summit of the Future which is to be held in September 2024 in New York.

On the sidelines to the 11th APFSD, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) jointly launched the Asia-Pacific SDG Partnership Report 2024 under the title of “People and Planet: Addressing the Interlinked Challenges of Climate Change, Poverty, and Hunger in Asia and the Pacific.”

The delegation of Sri Lanka comprised of Ambassador of Sri Lanka and Permanent Representative to UNESCAP, C. A. Chaminda I. Colonne, Director General of the Sustainable Development Council, Chamindry Saparamadu, First Secretary/Deputy Permanent Representative to UNESCAP, A.W.S Samanmali and First Secretary (Commercial)/Deputy Permanent Representative to UNESCAP, Vireshika Bandara.

Embassy and Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka
Bangkok
28.02.2024