Minister of Finance Mangala Samaraweera who is in New York to represent Sri Lanka at the Financing for Development Forum of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) called on the Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres on 16 April 2019.
At the meeting, the Secretary-General recalled his visits to Sri Lanka in the past including his first visit in 1978. Stating that he was impressed by the peaceful resolution of the recent political crisis in Sri Lanka, the Secretary-General reaffirmed the commitment of the United Nations to continue to support the people of Sri Lanka including in the reconciliation and sustainable development agenda.
Meeting with UNICEF Executive Director
Samaraweera also held discussions with the Executive Director of UNICEF, Henrietta H. Fore on the sidelines of the ECOSOC forum in New York on 16th of April. They discussed matters related to financing for Early Childhood Development (ECD).
The Finance Minister said that studies across the world have proved that children who participate in ECD programmes attain higher earnings and the childcare facilities initiative that was introduced via Budget 2019 will be a first step in promoting quality services for the early childhood stage.
Samaraweera shares Sri Lanka’s experience in inclusive growth at ECOSOC forum
Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera is representing Sri Lanka at the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Forum on Financing for Development (FfD) convened by the President of ECOSOC, Inga Rhonda King, at the latter’s invitation.
Participating in the Ministerial Financial Dialogue Panel Discussion on ‘Promoting Inclusive Growth Reducing Inequalities’ on 15 April, the Minister shared with the FfD, measures taken in Sri Lanka towards this end, including details of the ‘Enterprise Sri Lanka’ concessionary loan scheme which was launched in mid-2018 with the objective of creating 100,000 young entrepreneurs especially in the villages. 
Addressing the General Debate of the FfD on 16 April, Minister Samaraweera explained some of the measures taken by Sri Lanka including in the 2019 budget to address identified challenges in sustainable and equitable development.
Stating that financial commitments are increasingly challenging for countries like Sri Lanka that are subject to significant fiscal constraints, the Minister emphasised the need for international cooperation including for supporting measures to prevent and mitigate the debilitating impacts of climate change in vulnerable economies.
The Minister urged for greater public-private partnerships and multi-stakeholder initiatives globally, to ensure the successful achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) so that no one is left behind.
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