Final decision on hosting CITES conference in Colombo likely this week

The fate of Sri Lanka hosting the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora’s (CITES) World Wildlife Conference is likely to be decided this week, according to sources.

A representative of Geneva-based United Nation affiliated CITES Secretariat arrived in Colombo yesterday to hold talks with Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs Minister John Amaratunga and to evaluate the security situation of the country in the aftermath of Easter Sunday bomb attacks.

According to government source, the UN representative was scheduled to meet Amaratunga yesterday.

The CITES representative is also scheduled to inspect BMICH, the proposed location of the conference to be held, on Wednesday, and is expected to take part in a presentation conducted by the security forces on the latest security situation of the country.

The Ministerial Security Division (MSD) and the Special Task Force (STF) have been tasked with providing security for the conference, which has been postponed to September as of now.
However, according to sources at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Sri Lanka only has a 50 percent chance of retaining the hosting rights for the conference now.

Following the Easter Sunday attacks, several member countries of UN’s CITES Secretariat had proposed to hold the conference in Geneva while several other members backed Sri Lanka as a way of supporting the country’s tourism sector.

Sri Lanka was compelled to postpone the CITES conference to September this year, after considering a request made by the UN affiliated CITES Secretariat, on security concerns and travel advisories in the aftermath of Easter Sunday bombings.

The CITES conference was originally scheduled from May 23 to June 3 at the BMICH in Colombo with the participation of over 3,000 foreign delegates and media.

The government and tourism industry stakeholders are betting on hosting the CITES conference as a possible way to rebuild its image as a safe destination, which would in turn support the country’s tourism industry during its recovery period.