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51st APO Governing Body Meeting
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 Inaugural session in progress (L-R) APO Director for Sri Lanka Madihahewa, Minister Seneviratne, Prime Minister Wickremanayake, Secretary-General Takenaka, APO Alternate Director for Iran Dr. Ghanizadeh |
The 51st Governing Body Meeting (GBM) began with a welcome address delivered by Secretary Mahinda Madihahewa, Ministry of Labour Relations and Manpower, who emphasized the importance of productivity enhancement for achieving development goals in Sri Lanka. Secretary Madihahewa spoke of the establishment and growth of the National Productivity Secretariat (NPS), the NPO of the country, and the success of the National Productivity Awards as good indicators of the progress of the national productivity movement. He stated that, “APO assistance helped us address diverse dimensions of productivity promotion.” Secretary Madihehawa also suggested “repositioning the productivity movement to address the current turmoil.”
Subsequently, the opening address was delivered by Acting APO Chair and Alternative APO Director for IR Iran Dr. Mahmood Ghanizadeh. After sharing concerns on the daunting challenges created by the global recession, Dr. Ghanizadeh declared that the roles of the APO and NPOs were “to push the productivity agenda vigorously.”
The many VIP guests at the inaugural session included Minister of Labour Relations and Manpower Athauda Seneviratne and Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, who delivered the inaugural address and keynote address, respectively. In his inaugural address, Minister Seneviratne stated, “The APO’s role in the context of productivity enhancement is vital.” He also introduced major productivity policies and movements that Sir Lanka has adopted “to move into new realms of productivity growth.” They included a Presidential Task Force for Productivity Improvement, a national productivity policy, and the establishment of the NPS.
 New APO chair and vice chairs (L-R) Choi, Watanabe, Inmyxai |
During the plenary session, APO Director for Japan Masato Watanabe was elected APO Chair for 2009–2010 with APO Director for the Republic of Korea Dr. Dong-Kyu Choi and APO Director for Lao PDR Somdy Inmyxai assuming the positions of First and Second Vice Chairs, respectively. The meeting received reports from Secretary-General Shigeo Takenaka, which included the financial report as well as reports on the programs and activities of the organization in 2008. A special report on new initiatives by the Secretariat was made by Research and Planning Department Director Mukesh Bhattarai, who briefed the meeting on follow-up activities to establish centers of excellence (COE) in member countries and the outcome of the COE meeting held in February this year.
One of the highlights of the GBM is the presentation of policy directives by APO directors, which this year had the theme Productivity and the Global Financial Crisis. The meeting provided an opportunity for productivity leaders of APO member countries to exchange information and views on the impact of the crisis on member countries and NPOs, immediate as well as long-term solutions for higher productivity, new areas for the productivity movement, and suggestions for new APO focal points.
The meeting concluded with the morning closing session on 22 April when the summary of the record of proceedings and decisions were approved by the delegations.
