South Asian Undergraduates' Economic Summit starts on Nov. 29

The Department of Economics of the University of Colombo will hold the 7th South Asian Economics Students' Meet (SAESM) on November 29, 30 and December 1, on the theme 'Economic Freedom and Poverty Reduction in South Asia;. The Meet is partnered by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the main corporate sponsor is John Keells Holdings PLC.

The SAESM is an initiative of the undergraduates from South Asian countries to share their knowledge and experience in economic policy, issues and research findings. Economics undergraduates from five leading universities in the region, namely the Dhaka University of Bangladesh, Lahore University of Management Sciences in Pakistan, Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, Delhi University in India and the University of Colombo gather in Colombo at the unique event.

The SAESM was inaugurated in 2004 with its first Meet in New Delhi, as a pilot project to meet the growing demand for sharing of knowledge in the field of economics, policy and issues that are unique to the SAARC region. The great success of this endeavour is manifested by its successive Meets, held in Lahore in 2005, followed by the Dhaka in 2006 and then the Colombo Meet in 2007.

With the experience of the first round, the SAESM has now become an annual feature with the inauguration of its second round, the first in Delhi in 2008, followed by the Dhaka Meet in 2009, and to the Colombo Meet to be held soon.

The SAESM has expanded horizons since its humble start in 2004 to pave the way for a broader framework for the budding economists in the region to exchange their knowledge and insights on issues of each country and to deliberate on policy strategies.

It is indeed a unique event as it is the only economic dialogue of the undergraduates in the region.

While the Meet provides a unique platform to students to have a dialogue and to share knowledge on contemporary issues in Economics with their fellow students in the South Asian region, it also enables them to enhance their soft skills and competitiveness through a range of activities including knowledge-based quizzes, essays, etc.

The Colombo SAESM 2010 will be inaugurated by Ambassador of Germany Jens Ploetner.

The ceremonial opening and the 2-day formal seminar proceedings will be held at the auditorium of the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management in Colombo.