Ravi Karunanayake, the Minister of Finance chaired this gathering along with  Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, State Minister of Finance, Secretary to the Treasury, Dr. R. H. S. Samarathunga, and R. Paskaralingam, Advisor to the Ministry of National Policy Planning and Economic Affairs.

Up to now, 260 queries have been submitted through the Ease of Doing Business Forum and the Ease of Doing Business Unit (EODB Unit) of Ministry of Finance has successfully managed to resolve most of the issues raised by the business community. The EODB Unit, work actively with the relevant government institutions to provide prompt solutions to overcome issues faced by the private sector in doing business in Sri Lanka.

Around 75 representatives of private companies participated at this forum and their issues were presented to the panel and suggestions /solutions were given to them by the Honorable Minister of Finance together with the other panelists.

Among the queries presented, two of the key issues addressed in this forum were raised by Neil Fernando & Co (Pvt) Ltd and Global Sea Food (Pvt) Ltd.  Neil Fernando & Co (Pvt) one of the leading boat manufactures, raised the issue regarding the delay in getting approvals in proceeding with boat trials. This process was simplified by Ministry of Defense, agreeing to move forward only with Sri Lankan Navy’s approval which will provide a conducive environment for boat manufactures in Sri Lanka.  Similarly, as a solution to the query rose by Global Sea Food (Pvt) Ltd, the Minister of Finance instructed the Ministry of Health to reevaluate and restructure the current testing carried out by Atomic Energy Authority in granting fish import shipment clearance, according to the accepted norms of International trade.

Further, addressing other queries presented, the Minister of Finance instructed the relevant government officials to take necessary action in solving the raised issues immediately.