BOC GM Gunasekera chairs 73rd APRACA EXCOM Forum

The Asia Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association’s (APRACA) 73rd EXCOM and 22nd General Assembly meeting took place with the participation of the 24 member countries from the Asia-Pacific region.

Indian Minister for Agricultural and Farming Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar addressed the forum as the keynote speaker and Bank of Ceylon (BOC) General Manager D.P.K. Gunasekera chaired the forum, which took place on March 4 and 5, 2021. 

The APRACA is a non-government international organisation involving central banks, agricultural and development banks, commercial banks, apex organisations, federations of financial institutions and rural development institutions in the region, which are involved directly in agricultural credit and rural development. Its headquarters is situated in Bangkok, Thailand. 

This year’s APRACA’s EXCOM and the Regional Policy Meeting took place on virtual space, discussing several key initiatives that affects the region on ‘Development Support to Promote Agribusiness Clusters and Credit Enhancement’. 

Taking an inherent keen interest to promote financial inclusion in the country, contributing to develop the MSME sector, with special focus on rural and agricultural-based businesses, BOC made a significant contribution to the successful implementation of the initiatives decided on the forum, in supporting the APRACA platform to guide the members of the Asia-Pacific region to develop innovative strategies to ensure financial stability and fiscal sustainability.