The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has established the Stakeholder Engagement Committee with a view to broadening its engagement with key stakeholders of the economy.

This replaces the Monetary Policy Consultative Committee and the Financial System Stability Consultative Committee of the Central Bank that operative previously.

The SEC is chaired by Prof. Sirimal Abeyratne, Professor in Economics at the Department of Economics of the University of Colombo.

It comprises the following 17 eminent personalities from the private sector and academia as members:

• Ashique M Ali, Chairman, Sri Lanka Association for Software Services Companies
• Kapila P Ariyaratne, Chairman, Sri Lanka Banks’ Association
• Sanjaya Bandara, President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka
• Dhamitha Cooke, Chief Financial Officer, Stassen Group of Companies
• Dr. Priyanga Dunusinghe, Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, University of Colombo
• Priantha Fernando, Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority
• Murtaza Jafferjee, Chairman, Advocata Institute
• Christopher Joshua, Managing Director, Access Engineering PLC
• Rohan Masakorala, Founder, Shippers’ Academy Colombo (Pvt) Ltd
• Reyaz Mihular, Non-Executive Chairman, Bairaha Farms PLC
• Ashroff Omar, Chief Executive Officer, Brandix Lanka Limited
• Lakshman Silva, Former Chief Executive Officer, DFCC Bank PLC
• Rohan Tennakoon, Chairman, Finance Houses Association of Sri Lanka
• Rajendra Theagarajah, Past Chairman, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce
• Prof. Lakshman R Watawala, President, Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka
• Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja, Senior Research Associate
• Anushka Wijesinha, Economist and Co-Founder, Centre for a Smart Future

The primary role of this high-level consultative committee is to represent the views and sentiments of the private sector and academia on economic conditions and the outlook, considering the overall economic development, particularly in the monetary and financial sectors of the economy.

Further, the Stakeholder Engagement Committee is expected to provide feedback from the viewpoint of the stakeholders of the economy on the policy measures adopted by the Central Bank, thus enabling it to make informed policy decisions in a more consultative manner.

The inaugural meeting of the SEC was held on 10 August at the Central bank premises with the participation of Governor Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe and senior officials.