Sri Lanka invites Turkey to invest in new opportunities

Turkey celebrated its 94th Republic Day this week in Colombo with the participation of many dignitaries.

Sri Lanka and Turkey have strong ties in many sectors and the two governments expect to expand those ties further, especially in the trade and investment sectors.

Speaking at the event, Minister of Public Enterprises Development Kabir Hashim said Sri Lanka was poised to become a key financial, logistical and business hub of the Indian Ocean and expressed hope that Turkish investors would make use of the new opportunities that are now opening up in the country.

He said Turkey was the second-ranked construction economy in the world and Sri Lanka welcomed Turkish investment in the blooming construction sector in the island nation, particularly in the upcoming Greater Colombo Megapolis Development Project.

Ambassador of Turkey to Sri Lanka Tunca Ozcuhadar, addressing the event, noted that Turkey and Sri Lanka were friendly countries and diplomatic relations between the two countries went back more than 100 years.

“We have close relations in political, economic and people’s affairs. Government-to-government ties between our two countries have been cordial. Thanks to the excellent diplomatic relations that we have, Turkey and Sri Lanka have continued to support each other’s candidatures at international organisations. The volume of bilateral trade between Turkey and Sri Lanka is humble and there is a lot of room for growth, he said, adding that Turkey had made it a priority to develop financial and economic relations.

Ministers Sagala Ratnayake, John Amaratunga, Nimal Siripala de Silva, Faiszer Mustapha, Rauf Hakeem, MP Ravi Karunanayake and Rosy Senanayake were among the participants of the event.