President inaugurates 4th SAARC Public Procurement Conference

(PRESS RELEASE) –  The Fourth South Asia Region Public Procurement Conference commenced under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena in Colombo, Monday.  The Conference will continue until February 23 in Colombo and Kandy.

The Conference is an annual learning, knowledge and experience sharing, and networking event for the Heads of Public Procurement Agency or Authority of the eight member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC); it is a follow up on the three other Conferences held in Kathmandu, Nepal in April 2011, Islamabad, Pakistan in March 2014, and in Dhaka, Bangladesh in November 2015.

Understanding the importance of moving towards an e-procurement system the Government has decided to hold the Fourth Conference in Sri Lanka and the Conference is being hosted by the Department of Public Finance, Ministry of Finance, and is co‐sponsored by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Islamic Development Bank.

Holding this conference in Sri Lanka will pave the way to achieve the Government’s objectives of sustainable development and making a new economic and social environment for the betterment of the country and the people.

The e-Procurement System will enable to minimize bribery and corruption and it will also make the public finance management more efficient and transparent.

Bangladesh handed over the presidency of South Asia Regional Public Procurement Conference to Sri Lanka.
Top 10 honeymoon destinations:

Position

2016

2017

1

Maldives

Maldives

2

Mauritius

Mauritius

3

Indonesia (Bali)

Sri Lanka

4

Thailand

Indonesia (Bali)

5

Sri Lanka

Thailand

6

USA

USA

7

Italy

Italy

8

Mexico

Mexico

9

St Lucia

St Lucia

10

Antigua

Seychelles

In 1995, Kuoni launched its first standalone wedding brochure and more than half the weddings featured were in the Caribbean, with the USA and Indian Ocean locations also sought-after destinations.

Kuoni has also named three of the most unusual places to get married:

  1. Lodia House in Kenya
  2. The outdoor grotto at Rayavadee in Thailand
  3. On the shores of Lake Louise in Canada

As well as the best kept romantic travel secrets:

  1. Seeing the Taj Mahal views from the Mehtab Bagh in India
  2. The island of Gili Meno in Indonesia
  3. El Nido Pangulasian Island, Philippines
  4. Con Dao Island, Vietnam
  5. The island of Bequia, the Grenadines