The WEF & The Davos Propaganda

By Darshanie Ratnawalli –March 1, 2016

Darshanie Ratnawalli

The World Economic Forum (WEF) became front page news in Sri Lanka in January when Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe decided to become the first Sri Lankan leader to accept an invitation to attend the WEF annual winter sessions in Davos Switzerland.

The Sri Lankan Information Department did some creative repositioning and produced the following factoid on the official government news portal of Sri Lanka – “This is the first time Sri Lanka has been invited to attend the annual meeting of the WEF, which has been held for over 40 years. Invitations are extended only for selected heads of government, heads of states, in addition to other business and industry partners.”

While it is true that WEF excludes states that are considered beyond the pale – North Korea was invited for the first time since 1998 in 2016, only to have the invitation revoked at the last minute due to a nuclear test they carried out– this was never the case for Sri Lanka.

We were invited before

Sri Lanka was invited in the previous years, says Asanga Abeyagoonasekera, the late Ossie Abeyagoonasekera’s son dispelling this little myth when I met him for an initial discussion at his office at the Ministry of Finance where he is an adviser. Courteous and friendly, Asanga explains his role in ensuring Premier Wickremesinghe’s presence at Davos and the previous regime’s apathy regarding all things WEF.

Photo – Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

“Ever since I got appointed as a Young Global Leader in 2012, I have been asking the government for some sort of representation at the WEF. I have been trying my level best, but there were other priorities and they were not keen. They were invited and I have spoken to them. I was adviser to the Foreign Minister at the time. I spoke with him. But for some reason they didn’t want to be part of it. It was a huge opportunity we missed, being part of it and working closely with all these people.

Read More