Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC) Chairman Lord Jonathan Marland of Odstock, UK, held discussions with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) on advancing multilateral trade, besides strengthening private capital flows into Sri Lanka.
The CWEIC is the principal business network of the 56 member states of the Commonwealth. It is dedicated to promoting trade, investment, and sustainable economic growth across the Commonwealth.
President Dissanayake and Lord Marland discussed opportunities and the potential for Port City to become a hub in South Asia. He drew a parallel between the City of London Corporation and its role in Europe. Additionally, he emphasized the importance of collaborating with established financial centers like Dubai and Singapore to enhance regional capital markets and trade connectivity.
President Dissanayake called for high-quality investment in priority sectors. This was to boost Sri Lanka’s exports and value addition. Additionally, he emphasized the importance of ensuring the transfer of technology.
President Dissanayake quipped that Sri Lanka is not asking for aid. What Sri Lanka seeks from CWEIC is to attract Commonwealth private capital to specific bankable and economically impactful projects. The matter was discussed by President Dissanayake during his talks with Lord Marland on Tuesday, 10 February ’26.
Priority sectors such as tourism, infrastructure, and the digital economy need private capital. This is whilst macroeconomic data reflect recovery, with poverty and inequality remaining as significant challenges.
The president stressed the need for capital inflows in creating employment, besides empowering the vulnerable.
Given the uncertainties in global trade, President Dissanayake also urged Lord Marland to help Sri Lanka diversify into new markets.
The President noted that the CWEIC could serve as a valuable platform in facilitating connections between Sri Lankan enterprises and international investors, buyers, and supplier chains across key sectors. This includes services, agriculture, apparel, IT, and logistics.
The President observed that Sri Lanka would welcome engagement with the CWEIC network to share international best practices in areas such as transparency, regulatory certainty, and structuring of effective public-private partnership frameworks.
Lord Marland recalled his longstanding association with Sri Lanka and pledged support for the island’s economic revival under the leadership of President Dissanayake.
President Dissanayake, referring to the recent setback with damage caused by Cyclone Ditwah, initially estimated the loss to be at USD 4.1 billion. Therefore, the President emphasized the need to design future investments to be both climate-resilient and disaster-tolerant.
In this context, Lord Marland recalled his experience as Energy and Climate Change Minister. Lord Marland said that he was involved in advancing large-scale private capital mobilization. The goal was for low-carbon and resilient energy infrastructure. It underscored the importance of regulatory certainty and well-structured public-private partnerships. The purpose was in delivering sustainable and climate-aligned development.
President Dissanayake went on to add that what Sri Lanka needs is not just a repair but the creation of a resilient infrastructure and disaster-adaptive system.
Chairman of the CWEIC, Lord Jonathan Marland, also met with Secretary to the Treasury, Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma, at the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development recently. The meeting focused on avenues for strengthening economic cooperation and enhancing foreign investment flows into the island nation of Sri Lanka.
Lord Marland was accompanied by Board Directors of the CWEIC, both Niro Cooke and Prof. Asif Chaudhary; Chief Commercial Officer of the CWEIC, A. Q. Hamza; and Country Director for Sri Lanka of the CWEIC, representing CWEIC, Dr. Deshan Gonawela. Joining the meeting table, on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, was the Secretary to the Treasury, besides the Director general of the Department of External Resources.
Lord Marland also shared insights from his extensive experience in enterprise development, besides investment promotion across various countries. CWEIC also works to promote partnerships between governments and the private sector. He went on to add that CWEIC also fosters sustainable economic growth. It also creates business collaboration opportunities throughout its network of member nations.
The Secretary to the Treasury, Dr. Suriyapperuma, highlighted Sri Lanka’s ongoing economic reforms, besides development priorities. Suriyapperuma emphasized the importance of attracting increased foreign direct investment to support sustainable growth. This is besides employment creation and infrastructure development. He sought CWEIC’s collaboration in promoting Sri Lanka as an attractive investment destination among potential investors in the Commonwealth network.
Responding to Siriyapperuma, Lord Marland expressed CWEIC’s willingness to extend its full support in facilitating increased foreign investment inflows to Sri Lanka. Lord Marland further reaffirmed the Council’s commitment to working closely with the Government of Sri Lanka to strengthen business linkages. This is besides promoting investment opportunities and enhancing economic partnerships.
Both parties agreed to sustain their engagement and explore practical mechanisms for advancing mutually beneficial cooperation in the future.
