Kalinga Wijesekera re-elected President of Sri Lanka-Indonesia Business Council

The Sri Lanka-Indonesia Business Council (SLIBC), which functions under the aegis of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, held its 24th Annual General Meeting recently at Movenpick Hotel, Colombo, where Serendib Flour Mills Ltd. Head of Marketing and Communications Kalinga Wijesekara was re-elected as the President of SLIBC for a second term for 2017-2018. 

The Ambassador of Indonesia I Gusti Ngurah Ardiyasa was the event’s Chief Guest.

Addressing the gathering, Ambassador Ardiyasa, while congratulating President Wijesekera on being re-elected, appreciated his continuous support and active contribution to strengthening the relationship between Indonesia and Sri Lanka, particularly in business and trade. 

Although being positive on trade between the two countries, he felt that more could have been achieved given the vast untapped potential available in Indonesia. He stressed the importance of increasing bilateral trade relations by creating a conducive business environment and expanding the business network as well as maintaining the already close and friendly relations between the two countries. 

Addressing the membership, Wijesekara emphasised the importance of broad-basing export markets and the significance of Indonesia as an export destination for Sri Lanka. Furthermore, he highlighted the favourable positioning of Asia as an economic powerhouse and the crucial and promising role Indonesia will play as a major economic hub in the region in the time to come. He also drew the attention of the gathering to show that SLIBC could play an instrumental role in promoting exports, trade and other sectors such as tourism, tea, coffee, gems and jewellery, etc. 

He also spoke on how the business council together with the chamber and Indonesian embassy were committed to enhancing bilateral trade via B2B meetings to facilitate and enhance exports.