Sri Lanka-South Africa Business Forum held in Johannesburg

The Sri Lanka High Commission in South Africa and Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Sri Lanka, in collaboration with the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), successfully organised “Sri Lanka South Africa Business Forum” on 16 November at JCCI Auditorium. This forum was organised with the objective of facilitating B2B meetings for visiting Sri Lankan rubber and plastic exporters, who participated at COMPLAST 2018, held in Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg from 13 to 15 November. Seven Sri Lankan exhibitors, namely, Textrip Ltd., Idea Industries Limited, the Plastic and Rubber Industries and Education Centre, PE+ and S- Lon Lanka Ltd. , Plastic and Rubber Institute of Sri Lanka, Lanka Mineral & Chemical Ltd., and Global Vinyl Limited, participated in the exhibition through the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. 

The Business Forum commenced with welcome remarks by JCCI President Herman Breedt, who invited Sri Lankan delegates to explore business opportunities not only in South Africa, but also in the whole African region through the Chamber. During his remarks, Sri Lankan High Commissioner Kumar Mallimartchi emphasised that his intention is to ensure to create opportunities for trade and utilise all the connections made to strengthen the economic relations between the countries. First Secretary (Commercial) Kapila J. Kumara made a brief presentation highlighting trade relations between two countries, and an overview of export products of Sri Lanka. Each Sri Lankan company was also given the opportunity to make brief presentations on their businesses and product profiles. Delivering closing remarks and vote of thanks, Industry and Commerce Ministry Additional Secretary S Balasubramaniam highlighted the importance of the economic relationship between the two countries, and invited South African businesses to visit Sri Lanka to explore the opportunities available in terms of trade and investment. This was followed by the networking B2B session where over 50 South African businesses interacted and held successful discussions with the Sri Lankan delegation.