COYLE appoints Dimuth Silva as new Chairman

After a year of fulfilling his role, Saranga Goonewardena stepped down as Chairman of COYLE, while handing over the reins to the new Chairman Dimuth Chankama Silva, Managing Director at Freight Masters International (Pvt.) Ltd, as his successor, at the 23rd Annual General Meeting held recently, at Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo. 

It was followed by a gala function attended by the chief guest Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, ministers, state ministers, MPs together with secretaries, government officials, diplomatic community and COYLE members. The traditional kiribath was cut by the outgoing and past Chairmen of COYLE.

The new Chairman will be ably assisted by Senior Vice Chairman Rasith Wickramasingha and Vice Chairman Thushira Radella.

A product of Trinity College, Kandy and having represented the college basketball team and Sri Lanka Schools team, Silva takes on this nationally important role at a critical time for Sri Lanka, as the country emerges from the COVID-19 crisis and rebuilds its local and international business and trade relations along with a dire need for accelerated progress towards economic growth in the nation amidst daunting challenges in multiple fronts. 
COYLE plays a key role in representing the voice of businesses at inter-governmental level and on a national level, acting as an impartial organisation and providing a forum to build consensus and collaborative action.
Silva’s intentions to serve via consensus and dialogue was evident in his words when he addressed the audience saying, “Let me quote the words of Shakespeare from the play Othello, ‘We cannot all be masters’ That is why COYLE has only one Chairman position but is ineffective without the power of the members. Prime Minister, you represent the Podu Jana Peramuna - ‘The Key strength there is the People’. Similarly, I am nothing but a representative - a humble servant of my members.”

Outgoing Chairman Goonewardena, on his appointment added, “I congratulate Dimuth on taking on this leadership role and I look forward to supporting the enthusiastic COYLE team, on an exciting agenda following an unprecedented global health and economic crisis, a time that calls for the unique collaboration capability of COYLE.”

COYLE will be playing an increasingly crucial role supporting the initiatives of the government in bringing all stakeholders to the table to ensure that trade delivers better outcomes for everyone. This is possible by building consensus around policies that foster inclusivity, drive growth, encourage investment and create jobs, which are essential for a nation trying to break through the shackles of the pandemic and move forward to greener economic pastures.”