The same declaration undertook to steer the group’s efforts to overcome poverty, ignorance and disease, as well as to raise standards of life and achieve a more equitable international society. 20 years later, in 1991, the Harare Declaration was issued. This declaration conceded that many Commonwealth countries were still poor and that they faced acute problems, including excessive population growth, continuation of poverty, debt burdens and environmental degradation. At the same time, it was acknowledged that while disparities among members appeared to have worsened, some favourable results were also being achieved. For example, despite the widening economic gap, many nations had been able to establish better democratic processes, good administrative frameworks, more independent judiciaries, keener respect for human, fundamental and labour rights, and several other social successes. Those were of course significant achievements, and we should all be proud that we have been able to create such conditions in our countries. Notwithstanding those gains as noted in 1991, and the many subsequent successes, we may still have to admit that our collective efforts to address one of the fundamental Principles of the Singapore Declaration, namely, that of addressing the issue of income disparity, has been, by and large, unsuccessful. Today, 35 years after the Singapore Declaration, it is actually becoming even more acute, and consequently, we need to respond to that widening gap appropriately, urgently. Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, As we all know, countries that are affluent today were not affluent at some point in time in their history.
As per the “Mahinda Chintana” development strategy, every endeavour is to be made to tap domestic resources for investment. At the same time, the Government clearly realizes that it is imperative to encourage large scale investment flows into the country to make a significant impact in the acceleration of the growth process. It is now an accepted norm that large infrastructure projects such as highways, railways, airports, ports and power projects not only add to the stock of investment in a country, but are also considered a better recipe for poverty alleviation rather than income support and subsidies. A large number of such investment opportunities now exists in Sri Lanka and no doubt in many other Commonwealth countries as well. In that context, we need to use the opportunities provided by events such as today’s meeting to establish bi-lateral relationships leading to the promotion of investments. While Governments attempt to achieve consensus for multi-lateral facilities and agreements, it may also be time for individuals to seriously consider B2B investment opportunities. Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, I am confident that the delegates present at this Forum will actively, seriously and diligently explore possible ways and means of promoting interactive growth that would generate livelihoods and reduce poverty in our respective countries. If we all do that successfully, we could look back and proclaim that we did our bit to fulfill the lofty outcomes as envisaged in the 1971 Singapore Declaration. Thank you. BIS Review 83/2006  3