Sri Lanka boosting its export ranks

Thursday, 31 January 2013 00:06 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Re-affirming its ambitious $ 20 billion export goal by 2020, Sri Lanka has started to build its exports sector in a significant manner.

“You know that we have set a national goal of $20 billion by 2020 and we are not going to turn back, and neither should you,” said Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry and Commerce recently.

Bathiudeen was addressing the latest batch of Export Promotion Officers (EPOs) to be appointed by the EDB. The 10 officers who were appointed by Bathiudeen faced stringent examinations and interviews before being finally selected by the SLEDB’s human resources team.

“As per the vision of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, we are aiming to make Sri Lanka the miracle of Asia. You know that we have set a national goal of $ 20 billion by 2020 and we are not going to turn back, and neither should you. We are under no illusion; this is not an easy task in today’s difficult international market climate.

“We believe that our product and market diversification efforts such as the commencement of the Consultative Committee on Market Diversification and directly linking world’s third largest retailer Tesco to our suppliers, are the beginning of a series of new initiatives to sustain our exports, such as diversifying into BRICS markets,” added Bathiudeen.