Speeches Shim
Women’s groups representing Sri Lanka’s diverse communities celebrated the success of a pop-up handicrafts market supported by the U.S. government and the Kandy District Secretariat in commemoration of International Women’s Day.
Twenty women from Matara celebrated International Women’s Day today by participating in an innovative entrepreneurship training program supported by the U.S. government in partnership with Sri Lanka’s Department of Samurdhi Development. Representatives from the U.S. and Sri Lankan governments welcomed the women and announced the expansion of the program to an additional 7,500 participants in six districts in Sri Lanka.
U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Alaina B. Teplitz inaugurated a U.S.-funded online education platform today that connects students and teachers from different regions and responds to education challenges posed by COVID-19 restrictions. These “Smart Classrooms” connect Sinhala and Tamil speakers and provide remote schools with access to teachers trained in science and technology.
The United States, in coordination with zonal and provincial education and health services authorities, is setting up health rooms at 120 schools around the country, an initiative to support the health and well-being of thousands of Sri Lankan students. The health rooms promote Ministry of Education recommendations to ensure basic precautionary measures against COVID-19 and will include beds, mattresses, first aid kits, portable screens, and water dispensers. The rooms enable isolation and related care for students if needed.
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the global and local economic trajectory. As Sri Lanka’s economy seeks to emerge stronger out of this pandemic, an emphasis will need to be placed on supporting exports, which demonstrated an initial recovery in the June-August 2020 period. In this light and with the reopening of the economy post May, it is important to understand the firm level perspective from exporters on how they are now confronting and overcoming the challenges posed by COVID-19 and their perspective on the future direction of exports, labour and the economy. This report is the second in an assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on Sri Lankan Exporters conducted by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with the USAID/PARTNER (Partnership for Accelerating Results in Trade, National Expenditure and Revenue) Activity.
Pages
Last updated: June 23, 2022
Comment
Make a general inquiry or suggest an improvement.