44th WORKSHOP MEETING OF HEADS OF NPOS
10–12 February 2004, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Welcome Address
by Mahinda Gammampila
APO Director for Sri Lanka
Honorable Minister and Members of the Head Table,
Distinguished Delegates, Ladies & Gentlemen
We are assembled here today for the inauguration
of the 44th Workshop Meeting of Heads of National
Productivity Organizations of member countries of
the Asian Productivity Organization (APO).
At the outset, I wish to place on record my sincere
gratitude to the APO and all its member countries
for having selected Sri Lanka as the venue of this
important event.
Honorable Minister, this workshop is attended by
delegates from 18 countries who are members of the
APO, from Tehran to Tokyo cutting across the Asian
continent, bringing together countries large and small,
developed and developing, which have a diverse range
of experience in their efforts to achieve social and
economic development. The APO family has a common
bond in its mantra of productivity.
Productivity improvement envisages reaching higher
levels of outputs or performance. It involves diagnosis
of productivity problems, knowledge of alternative
productivity tools, improvement strategies, analysis
of receptivity of employees and organizations to new
efforts, and the measurement of output change.
Member countries of the APO are at different stages
of development. The problems encountered by each country
in the process of productivity improvement may vary.
The strategies that need to be adapted may be different.
The level of receptivity to new measures on the part
of individuals and organizations may also vary in
degree and intensity. Therefore each country will
have to find its own approach and strategies. At the
same time, this offers enormous opportunities to learn
from each other’s experience. Experience leads
to the formulation of principles and establishing
fundamentals. We need to put our fundamentals right
and identify policies if we are to achieve the higher
levels of productivity which are the key to development
for most countries.
In this context, the APO’s role is vital in
this common endeavor. The APO is committed to contributing
to the socio-economic development of its member countries
and improving the quality of life of their people
through productivity enhancement in the spirit of
mutual cooperation among its members. It has established
operational networking with the designated NPOs, which
act as national change agents for productivity promotion
and as implementing agencies for APO programs in member
countries.
The Heads of NPOs who are here with their colleagues
and advisers will review performance in the five thrust
areas of Knowledge Management, Green Productivity,
Small and Medium Enterprises, Integrated Community
Development, and Development of NPOs, along with productivity
improvement in the agriculture sector; and prepare
the working plan of the APO for 2005/2006 through
their deliberations at this workshop. They will be
assisted by resource persons, who are experts in their
respective fields. The final product of this workshop
will provide the base documents for the Annual Meeting
of the Governing Body, which is the policy-making
body and the supreme authority of the APO.
It is my privilege, as the country director for
Sri Lanka and a member of the Governing Body of the
APO, to welcome the distinguished delegates from the
respective member countries who are present at the
44th Workshop Meeting of the Heads of NPOs. The delegates
include the Heads of NPOs, their advisers, and delegates
representing the agricultural sector in their countries.
I extend a very warm welcome to them. I also welcome
the observers from international development agencies
including the Centre on Integrated Rural Development,
Colombo Plan, International Labor Organization, United
Nations Development Program, and US Agency for International
Development.
We also have with us the Honorable John Amaratunge
Minister for Christian Religious Affairs, as our Chief
Guest. My minister, the Honorable Mahinda Samarashinghe,
Minister for Employment and Labour, who is out of
the country on an official visit to the USA, invited
Minister Amaratunge to inaugurate this workshop. I
sincerely thank him for being with us on this important
occasion, despite other commitments he has.
We also have with us Mr. Charitha Ratwatte, Secretary
in the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Policy
Formulation, who will deliver the keynote address
at this inaugural session. Mr. Ratwatte is a senior
administrator who has vast experience at the highest
levels of policy making in Sri Lanka. I welcome him
with sincere gratitude for delivering the keynote
address despite his busy schedule.
A number of distinguished guests have taken the
time to be here today, and I would like to thank them
all.
Mr. Takashi Tajima, Secretary-General of the APO,
is warmly welcomed. Mr. Tajima has been the driving
force of the APO for the last several years. He has
also been a source of strength for all members of
the APO.
I also welcome the directors, senior officers, and
staff members of the APO Secretariat, Mr. N.G. Kularatne,
my former colleague in the Sri Lanka Administrative
Service, who now holds the post of Director of Finance
and Administration in the APO Secretariat.
I also wish to welcome my colleagues and officials
of the Ministry of Employment and Labour. Thank you.
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