NCE President attends WTO meeting

The WTO fifth Global Aid for Trade was held in Geneva last week.

President, NCE (National Chamber of Exporters) and Chairman, Ceylon Cinnamon Association (which consists of producers, processors, harvesters and exporters) and Founder Chairman of the Spice Council, Sarada M. de Silva addressed the side event No. 12 related to the Global Aid for Trade event on Geographical Indications (GI), on 'GI as a vector of development, and a warranty of quality in International Trade'.

This is not the first instance de Silva was invited to address the Global Aid for Trade events. At the meeting in 2013 he addressed the UNIDO session on 'Ceylon Cinnamon', and at the WTO Standards, Trade, Development, and Facilitation (STDF) session on Phytosanitary issues related to Ceylon Cinnamon.

Sri Lanka does not have a single GI which is registered overseas. In this regard, de Silva has been lobbying for the registration of Ceylon Cinnamon in the National Intellectual Property Law of Sri Lanka since the 1990s. During this period he worked with Director General, National Intellectual Property Office, Dr. D. M. Karunaratne and Director, Department of Commerce, Mrs. Gothami Indikadahena.

Ceylon Cinnamon, Ceylon Tea, and the Ceylon Blue Sapphire have been incorporated in the local National Intellectual Property law as a protection for GI due to the efforts of de Silva.

Unfortunately, the local Intellectual Property Law of Sri Lanka does not have a separate section for the protection of GI, nor a register of GI.

After extensive lobbying, to correct this situation and latterly with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in Sri Lanka and Mrs. G.R. Ranawaka, Current Director General of the National Intellectual Property Office and the Legal Advisory committee to NIPO a cabinet memorandum has been submitted by the Ministry of Industry of Commerce for the purpose.