Team of Japanese entrepreneurs explore new areas of investments in Sri Lanka.
Daily FT: A group of top-level Japanese entrepreneurs had called on Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena recently to discuss possible new investments in Sri Lanka.
The delegation included Saigo Ayumi, a member of the Royal family of Japan and former Member of Tokyo Metropolitan Council, and Kamisakamoto Yuji and Kamisakamoto Hisako, who belong to the entrepreneur family that constructed a memorial for former President J.R. Jayewardene in Japan to show gratitude to him for the support given to Japan at the famous San Francisco Conference after World War II.
The Prime Minister thanked Japan for the assistance provided to Sri Lanka and invited the delegates to invest in new areas such as agriculture, fisheries, motor vehicle components, pharmaceutical and hospitality industries. He said that Sri Lanka remains open to explore opportunities to further deepening and widening of bilateral relations, not only by greater trade and investment cooperation, but also in the education sector including Japanese Language teaching.
The delegation assured that they would encourage more and more Japanese companies to invest in Sri Lanka.
Kamisakamoto presented a book on J.R. Jayewardene published in Japanese to the Prime Minister, who then made arrangements for the delegation to meet Pradeep Jayewardene, grandson of President Jayewardene to discuss their proposal to publish a new book on the late President.
The delegation included Satosh Ryosuke, Zaito Aya, Yamada Hiroko, Nakade Ryoshin, Nose Hiroshi, Seto Tatsuhiko, Kawai Thoshihiko, Miura Yosuke, Suzuki Natsuo, Tanka Taro, Sato Ichiro and Ikeda Kautetsu. Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister Harsha Wijewardena and Dr. Anver Mustapha of Eastern Province ICT were also present during the meeting.
OSL take:
There is a growing interest among foreign businesses/investors to explore opportunities in Sri Lanka given the island’s target of becoming an emerging business destination in the South Asian region. The country’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean and the many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the country have placed Sri Lanka as an attractive business/investment destination. With the many development programmes, incentives offered by the authorities to potential investors and expanding economic activities, foreign businesses/investors could confidently explore the growing business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka.