Sri Lanka-EU investor dialogue to be revived by Board of Investment
The Board of Investment (BOI) of Sri Lanka and the European Union (EU) had recently discussed the early revival of the Investor Dialogue to ensure improved facilitation and promotion.
Steps towards this were discussed during a meeting between EU Ambassador Denis Chaibi, Deputy Ambassador and Head of Political Trade and Communications Section Thorsten Bargfrede and Delegation of the EU to Sri Lanka and Maldives Programme Manager – International Cooperation and Development Ludovic Ciechanowski, BOI Chairman Sanjaya Mohottala, Director General Pasan Wanigasekara, Executive Director – Investment Promotion Prasanjith Wijayatilake and Director – Investment Promotion Nilupul de Silva.
The BOI issuing a statement has noted that the objective of the meeting was to revive the EU-Sri Lanka investor dialogue that was initiated by the BOI and EU in 2014 and conducted quarterly from then until 2019.
Its purpose is to develop an effective facilitation programme for existing investors from the EU as well as to encourage and attract more foreign direct investments (FDIs) from the EU.
The EU Ambassador had reportedly informed that the EU will prepare the agenda for the forthcoming EU-Sri Lanka investor dialogue and finalise arrangements in coordination with the BOI to take this dialogue forward.
The meeting had further provided an opportunity to discuss matters on attracting more FDIs from the EU as well as the revival of the EU-Sri Lanka investor dialogue.
During the discussion, the BOI Chairman had briefed EU Ambassador of the forthcoming Sri Lanka Investment Forum scheduled to be held from 4-6 May, in collaboration with the Ceylon Chambers of Commerce (CCC) and the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE).
The EU Ambassador had mentioned that the Sri Lanka Investment Forum could be promoted via the EU-Sri Lanka investor dialogue that will be revived shortly.
The EU officials had also mentioned the ongoing projects with EU funding – ElectriFI and AgriFI, which are instruments managed by EDFIMC, are being currently rolled out in the country, and would invest directly in Sri Lankan companies or in a joint venture, while the BOI Director General provided a brief narrative of investment friendly reforms underway for legal systems etc.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka already enjoys the EU’s GSP Plus trade concessions that have greatly helped boost Sri Lanka’s exports sector. The move to revive the Sri Lanka-EU investor dialogue would further strengthen business/trade ties between Sri Lanka and EU. Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean has placed the island prominently in the South Asian business sector. Businesses/investors from the EU could therefore confidently explore business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka and vice versa.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/25032021/Z_4 |