Sri Lankan government invites French investors to the country
A delegation from Sri Lanka led by the country’s State Minister of Regional Cooperation Tharaka Balasuriya including Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment (BOI) Chairman Sanjaya Mohottala during a recent visit to France has met with the Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF International) Vice President François Corbin, and France – Sri Lanka Business Council Chairman/ South Asia Project Manager at MEDEF International Anaïs Vassallo.
Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Sri Lanka to UNESCO Prof. Kshanika Hirimburegama and SriLankan Airlines Chairman Ashok Pathirage had also participated in these meetings that had yielded fruitful results, according to local media reports.
State Minister Balasuriya had reportedly introduced the Sri Lankan journey, starting with when Sri Lanka became independent in 1948, and had compared Singapore’s and Sri Lanka’s destinies in regard to the consequences of the colonisation, and emphasised the role of educational reforms, followed by high growth rates after the end of the war.
Balasuriya has pointed out the role of Sri Lanka’s location as a primary advantage since it could pose a hub between Asia and Europe, which could engender logistic gains for France.
He has further highlighted that most importantly, Sri Lanka has benefited from a long political stability, being the largest democracy in the region, with no coup, whilst sharing democratic values as well as a non-aligned/neutral international policy, the successive Governments implemented consistent policies since the early 2000s, like the Port City Project.
BOI Chairman Mohottala has introduced the high and fast economic growth rates of Sri Lanka in the past 10 years, before introducing Sri Lankan main assets and economic segments.
It was also noted that Sri Lanka benefits from two large ports and three international airports while being benefited from superior market access, with one billion consumers across South Asia and East Africa.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka enjoys strong bilateral and trade ties with many foreign countries and enjoys trade agreements and concessions with most countries. This has given an edge to Sri Lanka’s manufacturing and exports sectors. Also, the country is engaged in an aggressive development programme covering all key economic sectors. Given the country’s economic resilience and the build up as an emerging business destination in the South Asian region have made Sri Lanka an attractive business destination. Also, the country’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean, the many trade agreements as well as concessions enjoyed by the country have added to Sri Lanka’s appeal as a growing business/investment destination in the region.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/04112021/Z_3 |