Thursday, 22 August 2013 00:33
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Israelis looking for JVs and partnerships with matching Lankan firms
“Lankan trade mission to Israel scheduled this October”: SL Ambassador Wijesinghe
Lanka’s exports to Israel up by 30%
A top Israeli business and high-tech mission will arrive in Colombo next week. “This is the strongest such delegation to arrive in Sri Lanka in recent times. Among the delegation are high-end Israeli companies the in dairy, agriculture, high-tech, water and tourism sectors and they are willing to share their knowledge and experience gained in these sectors with our industries,” said Sarath Wijesinghe, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Israel, speaking from Tel Aviv.
Wijesinghe will lead the 30-strong mission to Sri Lanka, on a visit scheduled from 25-31 August. Among the firms included in this mission are Naan Dan Jain (agro-irrigation), Earnix (banks, financial institutions, insurance), A & G Partners (innovative consulting), Niru Group (diamonds), Magic (enterprise software), Afimilk (dairy farming) and Agrotop (livestock). While in Colombo, the delegation is scheduled to take part in a B2B forum and will undertake several on-site visits.
Diamonds, brought down from Israel to Sri Lanka, are cut and polished here and shipped back to Israel. Annually, such diamond exports exceed the $ 40 million mark and in 2012, Israel became the second largest Lankan diamond buyer with a total of $ 54 million. According to the Export Development Board, Sri Lanka’s overall exports to Israel increased by a strong 30% in 2012 to $ 74.36 million. Diamonds were the leading export in 2012 with 73% of total exports, followed by tea, frozen fish, rubber products, and textile articles.
“The Lankan embassy in Tel Aviv has lined up nearly 50 business giants and personalities to visit Sri Lanka for partnerships and joint ventures in dairy, agriculture, high-tech, water and tourism. Some of the visiting firms are experts in advancing underdeveloped agricultural lands and other underdeveloped industries and they already work with companies in China and USA,” Ambassador Wijesinghe added.
“There are plans of trade missions from Sri Lanka to Israel in October with the prospective Lankan participants who are in touch with the EDB, our embassy and chambers. Arrangements are being made for the delegation to meet with Lankan business and SME leaders through one to one meetings. Banking and finance sector also has strong role in this latest mission,” said Wijesinghe. “I also met with Yair Shamir, Israeli Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, at Bet Dagan on 11 August and handed over a letter of invitation by Lankan Agriculture Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena to visit Sri Lanka.”
