The Inaugural meeting of the Inter-University Departments of Economics was held on the 25th of February, 2012 at College House, University of Colombo. The meeting was chaired by Prof. Kshanika Hirimburegama, Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo and the discussion session was presided over by Prof. Sirimal Abeyratne, Head of the Department of Economics. Heads of Economics Departments, or their representatives, from 10 national universities attended the meeting.

Currently, despite academic economists being involved in a number if research projects and policy analyses, there is no mechanism by which the sharing of knowledge, experiences and research findings among these persons can be facilitated. As such, the agenda of the meeting was to decide upon the establishment of a forum for university economists and prepare a plan of action for this forum, which will provide opportunities for formal collaboration in the future.

While the forum will be invaluable in terms of resource sharing, building of research capabilities, and curriculum development, the first major event of the forum is to be an economics research symposium for the national universities of Sri Lanka, enabling both academics and undergraduates to showcase their skills. This will also be a means of promoting the recognition of academic economists among academia, policy makers, industrialists and the general public. The conference, which is to be an annual event, will be hosted this year by the Economics Department of the University of Colombo.