{"id":152545,"date":"2025-10-13T16:18:35","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T23:18:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=152545"},"modified":"2025-10-13T16:18:35","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T23:18:35","slug":"iscci-hosts-second-edition-of-bridging-borders-financial-dialogue-in-colombo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2025\/10\/13\/iscci-hosts-second-edition-of-bridging-borders-financial-dialogue-in-colombo\/","title":{"rendered":"ISCCI Hosts Second Edition of \u201cBridging Borders\u201d Financial Dialogue in Colombo"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Indo\u2013Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ISCCI)<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

ISCCI Hosts Second Edition of Bridging Borders\u201d Financial Dialogue in Colombo
Theme: Enabling Sri Lanka\u2019s Market Bond Issuance in Indian Currency \u2013 Pathways, Policies, and Preparedness
Date: Wednesday, 15th October 2025
Venue: BMICH, Colombo | Time: 3:00 PM \u2013 6:00 PM | Followed by High Tea

The Indo\u2013Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ISCCI) held its second edition of its flagship financial dialogue series titled Bridging Borders II: Enabling Sri Lanka\u2019s Market Bond Issuance in Indian Currency \u2013 Pathways, Policies, and Preparedness.\u201d
The event was held on 15th October 2025 at the BMICH, Colombo, and joined by distinguished policymakers, financial experts, economists, and industry leaders from both nations.
The Bridging Borders\u201d series is part of ISCCI\u2019s continued effort to foster financial cooperation and policy alignment between India and Sri Lanka, particularly in strengthening cross-border financing mechanisms and enabling frameworks for currency-linked investments. The second edition focused on exploring the feasibility and roadmap for Sri Lanka to issue market bonds in Indian Rupees (INR) \u2014 a development that could significantly enhance regional financial integration, trade liquidity, and investor confidence.

Distinguished Guests and Dignitaries
The Chamber was deeply honored to host an eminent lineup of dignitaries:
\u2022 Chief Guest: Hon. Dr. Anil Jayantha, M.P., Minister of Labour & Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, Government of Sri Lanka
\u2022 Guest of Honor: Dr. Satyanjal Pandey, Deputy High Commissioner, High Commission of India, Colombo
\u2022 Keynote Address: Snr. Prof. D.B.P.H. Dissabandara, Senior Professor of Finance, University of Sri Jayewardenepura

Panel Discussion: Building the Bridge to Financial Integration
A high-level panel discussion bought together some of the region\u2019s most respected financial and policy experts, including:
\u2022 Hon. Eran Wickramaratne \u2013 Former State Minister of Finance, Sri Lanka
\u2022 Eng. Nissanka N. Wijeratne \u2013 Secretary General & CEO, Chamber of Construction Industry of Sri Lanka
\u2022 Mr. Sachith Perera \u2013 CEO, First Capital Ltd., Sri Lanka
\u2022 Mr. Prins Perera \u2013 Senior Vice President, DFCC Bank
\u2022 Dr. Naresh Bana \u2013 Global PPP Specialist & Vice Chairman, ISCCI
\u2022 Moderator: Mr. Talal Rafi, Economist & Global Thought Leader
The discussion focused on key enablers for cross-border financial cooperation, including:
\u2022 Frameworks for INR-denominated bond issuance in Sri Lanka
\u2022 Strengthening regional capital market connectivity
\u2022 Harmonizing fiscal and monetary regulations
\u2022 Opportunities for public-private partnerships (PPP) in financial infrastructure
\u2022 Strategies to enhance investor participation from India and beyond

Advancing Indo\u2013Sri Lankan Economic Synergy
Speaking about the initiative, Dr Sarath Obeysekera, Snr. Vice President ISCCI, shared:
This dialogue reflects our shared commitment to deepen Indo\u2013Sri Lankan financial linkages. Enabling market bond issuance in Indian currency could open new avenues for bilateral trade, investment, and economic stability. Through \u2018Bridging Borders II,\u2019 we aim to create a roadmap for long-term financial engagements between our two nations.\u201d

Mr. Udaya Seneviratne, Snr. Advisor to ISCCI, added:
As Sri Lanka\u2019s financial markets evolve, integrating with India\u2019s bond market framework presents a historic opportunity. This dialogue brings together key voices from both countries to define a collaborative and sustainable approach.\u201d

About ISCCI
The Indo\u2013Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ISCCI) serves as a vital platform promoting bilateral trade, investment, and cultural exchange between India and Sri Lanka. Through policy dialogues, sectoral summits, and business partnerships, ISCCI works to enhance cooperation in areas such as infrastructure, finance, energy, tourism, agriculture, and the blue economy.

Media and Contact Information
For press inquiries or media coverage coordination, please contact:
Dr. Sarath Obeysekera
Senior Vice President, ISCCI \u2013 Colombo
\ud83d\udcde +94 777309290
Mr. Udaya Seneviratne
Senior Advisor, ISCCI \u2013 Colombo
\ud83d\udcde +94 717 247 873
Dr. Naresh Bana
Vice Chairman, ISCCI \u2013 India
\ud83d\udcde +91 99680 75289
Email: info@iscci.org<\/a>
Website: www.iscci.org<\/a>
Issued by:
The Indo\u2013Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ISCCI)
Date: 15th October 2025
Colombo \/ New Delhi<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regards

Dr Sarath Obeysekera<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Indo\u2013Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ISCCI) ISCCI Hosts Second Edition of Bridging Borders\u201d Financial Dialogue in ColomboTheme: Enabling Sri Lanka\u2019s Market Bond Issuance in Indian Currency \u2013 Pathways, Policies, and PreparednessDate: Wednesday, 15th October 2025Venue: BMICH, Colombo | Time: 3:00 PM \u2013 6:00 PM | Followed by High Tea The Indo\u2013Sri Lanka […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,116],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-152545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","category-dr-sarath-obeysekera"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152545"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":152546,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152545\/revisions\/152546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}