Local businesses should utilise services offered by Lankan Embassies
Tuesday, 18 March 2014 00:01
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The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce on Friday organised a meeting between the Commercial Counsellors designated to Russia, France and Sweden and the local business community, which is engaged in doing business in those countries.
The move was aimed at creating a platform to exchange ideas on how to garner trade, investment and tourism opportunities from those countries to Sri Lanka.
Commercial Counsellor Designate to Russia Chandima Kiriwandala, Commercial Counsellor Designate to Sweden Thavishya Mullegangoda, Commercial Counsellor Designate to France Alexi Gunasekera, Sri Lanka-Russia Business Council President Hiran Karunaratne, President of the Sri Lanka-Nordic Business Council Majid Awn and several businessmen, comprising of both exporters and importers, took part in the meeting held at the CCC.
Speaking during the meeting, Gunasekera said that most of the Sri Lankan businessmen, who do overseas business, do not utilise the services offered by the Lankan missions in other countries.
“We see that the majority of the local businessmen don’t come via the Lankan Embassies in respective countries and they only come to us when they encounter a problem,” said Gunasekera.
According to him, Sri Lankan missions established in around 60 countries are able to help local businessmen who want to engage in trade, investment and tourism activities in overseas destinations by providing a series of services.
Among those ranks, helping to get visas to the respective countries, help build business contacts, facilitate to take part in events such as trade fairs, inform business opportunities, assist to study the business climate of those respective countries, promotion of Sri Lankan products in those countries by holding single country exhibitions and many more.
Designated Commercial Counsellors also believe Sri Lanka also needs to engage in market diversification and product diversification to increase our export earnings which stand around US$ 10 billion per annum.
According to the trade officers, Sri Lankan exports to France, Sweden and Russia are limited to a few products and also tourism, which they say should be increased.
“Our primary export to Russia is tea and even that we see coming down in the recent years, so we need to give more value added products to the Russian market,” said Kiriwandala.
Mullegangoda, Karunaratne and Awn also spoke during the occasion.
Commercial Counsellors designated to various countries visit the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce as a customary practice to meet the local business community and also to meet the representatives of the business councils which deal with respective countries and come under the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.
