Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Ali Sabry warns that the country needs to confront systemic inefficiencies if it is to establish itself as a go-to international arbitration seat.

Sri Lanka Foreign Minister Sabry has signalled his intent for the island nation to jump on the international arbitration bandwagon by emphasising the country’s benefits, which he said include the widespread use of English and its skilled and independent judiciary, but cautioned that action to tackle transparency and inefficiencies needs to be taken before the country can take a seat at the international arbitration top table.

Sabry’s comments were made at last week’s “Arbitration In Sri Lanka: Becoming An Arbitration Hub” event, which was organised by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Arbitration Council (SARCO), the Federation of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL), and the Sri Lanka National Arbitration Centre (SLNAC). 

SAARC is an economic and political regional organisation of countries in South Asia, established in 1985. Aside from Sri Lanka, its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, and Pakistan. Its stated aims are to accelerate the process of economic and social development in its member states through increased intra-regional cooperation. In 2006, SAARC launched the South Asian Free Trade Area which functions to develop ever-closer ties with other international bodies, including the European Union (EU).

(CDR)