Ceylon Chamber of Commerce launches Sri Lanka-Bangladesh Business Council
Daily FT: The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce has announced the inauguration of the Sri Lanka-Bangladesh Business Council (SBBC), the 21st bilateral trade council established by the Chamber.
The Chief Guest at the event and the Patron of the Council, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Sri Lanka Tareq Md. Ariful Islam hailed the launch of the Council, expressing enthusiasm for its mandate to promote business, trade, and investment between the two neighboring countries. He highlighted the immense potential that Bangladesh holds as one of the fastest-growing economies globally, offering a huge market, investment-friendly policies, robust infrastructure, a skilled workforce, and rapid digitalization. The High Commissioner emphasized the need to diversify the sourcing of imports and explore opportunities in various sectors for collaborative ventures.
SBBC Inaugural President and Hayleys Advantis Director Dr. Asanka Ratnayake, emphasized the significance of the Sri Lanka-Bangladesh Business Council in fostering stronger economic and trade relations between the two countries. He highlighted the complementary nature of the products exported and imported between the two nations and expressed the Council’s commitment to working closely with stakeholders and partners to realize the full potential of bilateral trade and investment between the two countries.
The Council’s Vice Presidents for the term 2023/2024 are Hemas Holdings PLC Managing Director Sabrina Esufally, and Commercial Bank of Ceylon Corporate Banking Deputy General Manager Tamara Bernard.
The Inaugural Executive Committee of the Council comprises representatives of MAS Intimates Bangladesh Ltd., Metropolitan Technologies Ltd., NDB Capital Holdings Ltd., The Swadeshi Industrial Works PLC, and Venora International Projects Ltd.
The Sri Lanka-Bangladesh Business Council aims to serve as a platform for businesses from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to collaborate, explore opportunities for mutual growth, and promote trade, tourism, and investments between the two countries.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka enjoys strong bilateral and trade ties with Bangladesh that is to be further enhanced with the two countries looking at signing a trade agreement in the near future. Sri Lanka is also in the process of reviewing and further enhancing the country’s existing trade agreements with foreign countries. The country’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean and the many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by Sri Lanka have helped the country on its path towards becoming an emerging business destination in the South Asian region. Also, Sri Lanka’s growing economic activities and the overall growth recorded by key economic sectors have opened up many business/investment opportunities in the country. Given Sri Lanka’s growth and business potential, Bangladeshi businesses/investors could confidently explore the growing opportunities in Sri Lanka and vice versa. Also, other foreign businesses could look at setting up base in Sri Lanka to engage with countries in the South Asian region like Bangladesh using the preferential treatment enjoyed by Sri Lanka with these countries.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20231123/Z_2 |