Sri Lanka-Korea Business Council holds 27th AGM

Seated, from left: Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Manager Business Council Dinithi Dias, SLKBC Treasurer K. Kunendra, SLKBC Vice President John Shiran Dissanayake, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Sri Lanka Woonjin Jeong, SLKBC President Priyantha Mendis, SLKBC Immediate Past President Mahen Kariyawasan, SLKBC Honorary Member Prof. Lakshman Watawala.

Standing, from left: Andre Fernando representing MAC Holdings, Sharmini Mendis (on behalf of Shamil Mendis) representing Spear International, Mevan Peiris representing Ceyline Shipping, Sangeeth Weliwattha representing Senok Trade Combine, Asitha Martis representing Shipping & Cargo Logistics 

The 27th Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka-Korea Business Council (SLKBC) of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce was held on 10 January at the Ramada Hotel, Colombo. The SLKBC was inaugurated on 4 November 1982, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, at the request of the late Lalith Athulathmudali with the objective of promoting trade, investments, tourism and services between Sri Lanka and Korea.

Alpha Tours Ltd. General Sales Agent for Korean Air in Sri Lanka & Maldives Priyantha Mendis was re-elected as the President of the Council for the year 2021/2022. John Shiran Dissanayake from Transmarine Ltd. and Shamil Mendis from Spear International Ltd. were elected as Vice Presidents of the Council.  K. Kunendran from Abans PLC was elected as the Treasurer.

Mahen Kariyawasan will continue to serve on the committee as the Immediate Past President and Founder President Prof. Lakshman Watawala will serve as an Honorary Member.  

Ceyline Shipping Ltd., MAC Holdings Ltd., Senok Trade Combine Ltd., Shipping & Cargo Logistics Ltd. and Southern Tea Producers Ltd. were elected from the membership to serve on the Executive Committee of the Council.

Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Sri Lanka Woonjin Jeong stated: “Since 1977, the relationship between Korea and Sri Lanka has been robust, multifaceted and continues to grow on the basis of mutually beneficial cooperation in many areas of interest including culture, economy, health, education, labour and environment. In our 45 years of multifaceted friendship, we have strived to take our relationship to a higher level. 

“I am very happy to share that new Sri Lankan migrant employees are now welcome to enter Korea and assume their new jobs. Recently, the Government of the Republic of Korea decided to resume the entry of new Sri Lankan workers and workers from other foreign countries to Korea. Around 22,000 Sri Lankan employees are presently in Korea and approximately 520 million US Dollars were transmitted by them from Korea to Sri Lanka before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. As they are able to resume work in Korea, I am sure that they will greatly contribute to the economic advancement of both countries.

“The successful milestones of our bilateral friendship also extend to the education sector. Last year, the Korean language had been officially adopted as a foreign language in the advanced level curriculum from 2021 and students can sit for the Korean language examination in the university entrance examination by 2023. The National Institute of Education in collaboration with the Korean Embassy has advanced our education cooperation to greater heights. The Korean government is ready to support Sri Lanka’s initiatives to strengthen Korean language education.

“Korea has gone through tough times and economic downturns as well, however today, it is known as the ‘Miracle on the Han River’. I believe the same can be achieved in Sri Lanka as the ‘Miracle on the Kelani River’. I hope the economic situation in Sri Lanka gets better soon.” 

SLKBC President Priyantha Mendis stated: “If you consider bilateral trade between the two countries, I believe Sri Lanka needs to improve its trade balance with Korea. However, I must mention that the Korean Government has helped our country immensely to earn much needed foreign exchange by providing employment opportunities for our youth in Korea in the manufacturing, fisheries and agricultural sectors for over 15 years. At present there are over 25,000 Sri Lankans living in Korea – the biggest concentration of expatriate employees after the Middle East.

“The Korean government has offered scholarships to our students in various universities in Korea for some years now. A few days ago, our Foreign Minister who was in Korea had a meeting with his counterpart in Korea and discussed the establishment of a Korea Free Trade Zone in Sri Lanka. In fact, we have been pushing for this for some time and we are hopeful that this proposal might materialise. We fully support this initiative and look forward to working closely with both governments and the private sector to make this a reality.” 

Further details regarding membership of the Council can be obtained from the Secretariat of the Sri Lanka-Korea Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, No. 50, Navam Mawatha, Colombo 2. E-mail: [email protected] or Tel.: 011-5588861, 5588800.