The Hon. Priyantha Wijerathna, Attorney-at-Law

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, today we debate the regulations made in 2024 under the powers of the Intellectual Property Act, No. 36 of 2003, concerning registration of Geographical Indications (GIs). Some in the Opposition, lacking understanding of GIs, wasted time with irrelevant points.

¶ 02 Another frequent Opposition line is: “We, too, were going to do this.” We came to power barely two months ago and started work; their refrain is that they also planned it. Let’s see the timeline: Internationally, the GI concept was legally embedded in 1995. Sri Lanka introduced the term “Geographical Indication” into our law in 2003 via the IP Act. But though the term was inserted, there were no operative provisions for registration. This problem surfaced when we attempted to register Sri Lankan cinnamon as a GI in the EU. Lacking domestic GI registration, we used the workaround of a certification mark—“Ceylon Cinnamon”—to register in the EU.

¶ 03 Though the 2003 Act existed, the legal framework enabling GI registration only came much later—with the 2022 amendments. Even then, the then-government did not bring the necessary regulations. Within about a month of our assuming office, we brought these GI registration regulations. Today’s debate is to approve them.

¶ 04 Our primary GIs are Ceylon Tea and Ceylon Cinnamon. Registering them domestically as GIs will occur after we pass these regulations. That shows how long the then-government (now Opposition) delayed such essential work.

¶ 05 Given Sri Lanka’s geographic and climatic diversity, we can create many GIs. Government’s tasks include swiftly registering identified GIs and discovering new candidates. This is vital to our export economy, ensuring our products, marketed under our own names, gain premium positioning.

¶ 06 Beyond tea and cinnamon, potential GIs include blue sapphires, pepper, cashew, etc. In my Digamadulla District, natural salt pans of Panama—especially Panagala—once supplied salt but are now defunct. We can study and revive them to supply natural salt locally. Digamadulla is also famed for curd (mee kiri), a potential GI. In Maha Oya’s Warapitiya area, thousands of acres of paddy lands have turned fallow; we are striving to restore cultivation district-wide by the next Maha season.

¶ 07 In two and a half months, we have begun to overturn the old political culture. We are reforming state administration, removing entrenched distortions, and changing mindsets. We believe that in five years we can build a prosperous, beautiful country. These GI regulations will be decisive for our export economy—registering known GIs quickly, identifying new ones, securing exclusivity abroad, fetching higher prices, and advancing national development. Thank you.