51st APO Governing Body Meeting
20−22 April 2009, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Welcome Address
by Mr. Mahinda Madihahewa, APO Director for Sri Lanka
Secretary, Ministry of Labour Relations and Manpower
Hon. Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka;
Hon Athauda Senevirathne, Minister of Labor Relations and Manpower, Sri Lanka;
Mr. Shigeo Takenaka, Secretary-General of Asian Productivity Organization, and all the staff of the APO;
Dr.Mahmood Ghanizadeh , Chairman Governing Body;
Hon. Alavi Mowlana, Governor of the Western Province;
Mr. Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to His Excellency the President and all the Secretaries to the Ministries;
All Directors and Alternate Directors of the APO Member Countries;
Distinguished Delegates;
Excellencies,
Distinguished invitees;
Ladies and Gentlemen:
On behalf of the Government of the Democratic of Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the National Productivity Secretariat of Sri Lanka I warmly welcome you to the Inaugural session of the 51st session of the Governing Body of the Asian Productivity Organization. Sri Lanka is honored and privileged to host this event in Colombo.
We are indeed honored to have with us Hon Rathnasiri Wickramanayake, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, to inaugurate the 51st Session of the APO Governing Body and be the chief guest of this session. We are also honored to have with us Hon Athauda Senevirathne, Minister of Labour Relations and Manpower.
On this occasion, representing the APO we are pleased to have the presence of the Secretary-General of the APO, Mr. Shigeo Takenaka. I take this opportunity to thank him and, the APO, for selecting Sri Lanka to host the 51st Session of the Governing Body.
Sri Lanka become a member of the APO in 1966 and for the last forty three years, we have been working closely with the APO. During this period we were able to host five Workshop Meeting of Heads of NPOs, but for the first time, this year, we are hosting a Governing Body session.
APO has contributed in diverse ways in promotion of productivity in Sri Lanka and our efforts in creating a productivity culture among all sectors. Given the diverse constraints and challenges faced by Sri Lanka both in the economic and social development, it is our firm belief that productivity enhancement is the key factor in achieving higher levels of development.
Setting up the National Productivity Secretariat in 2002 to be the focal point of the productivity promotion activities and to be the National Productivity Organization gave a new life to the productivity movement in the country. Since then number of changes have been effected in the policy and the strategy. Two productivity polices were formulated for the public and the private sectors, and the focus hitherto confined to public sector and private sector institutions was extended to embrace the public sector, private sectors, schools and the community. During the last seven years the NPS has grown into a fully fledged institution, and I think it is my duty to take this opportunity to acknowledge the hard work of the Director NPS and his staff.
We also have the blessing of His Excellency the President himself for the productivity promotion program. Setting up the President Task Force in 2007, and brining it under the leadership and supervision of his Secretary, is a demonstration of His Excellency the President’s sheer commitment.
The best indicator we have to assess the progress of the National Productivity Movement is the National Productivity Awards Ceremony. We have observed that year by year the annual National Productivity Awards is gaining popularity and, in order to promote productivity at grass root level and to accommodate more in the competitions we are conducting Provincial level award ceremonies, in addition to national ceremony.
We very much appreciate the contributions made by the APO in supporting our productivity promotion programmes. The APO assistance helped us to address diverse dimensions of productivity promotion. Those include capacity building of the National Productivity Secretariat and the other stakeholder institutions and organization; overseas training for staff of public and private sector organizations; consultancies for the Development of Demonstration companies; development of productivity model companies; exposure to productivity tools and techniques; development of productivity specialists; and broadening of local knowledge base through research and surveys. The APO assistance also helped us to promote good practices in the areas of green productivity, occupational safety and health, productivity-based wage systems etc.
The APO for the 51st session of the GB has proposed a timely theme, that is, “Productivity improvement and the Global Financial Crisis.” The financial market turmoil that erupted last August has developed into on of the largest financial shocks we have experienced since World War Two. This is a global crisis, and it requires coordinated global and regional responses. The magnitude of the crisis demands pragmatic innovative and far reaching solutions.
We have observed the contrasting views expressed by different people with regards to productivity promotion during economic turmoil. Nevertheless, productivity growth has been the most important factor for global economic growth during the last couple of centuries. This is a time we need to distinguish between short term adjustments to respond to the immediate crisis, and measures to ensure long term efficiency of the economy.
In this contest, I believe that this is the best forum for us to deliberate on appropriate policy initiatives in re-positioning the productivity movement to address the current turmoil. We look forward to have fruitful deliberations during the plenary sessions.
May I extend a warm welcome to you all again and, wish our guests from the member countries of the APO and the APO staff a pleasant and enjoyable stay in Sri Lanka.
Thank you.
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