Saturday Nov 16, 2024
Saturday Nov 16, 2024
Thursday, 25 September 2014 00:30 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
North Rhine Westphalia boasts the strongest economy (with Euro 56 billion GDP) of all the states in Germany and also is the most populated region (1.1 million). Moreover, the lion’s share of the German export market is taken up by products made in this region; in fact 16% of all German exports are ‘Made in North Rhine Westphalia’. Over 100,000 companies in North Rhine Westphalia are represented internationally.
Realising the importance of exploring the possibilities of working with this chamber, Jayewardene – the first Sri Lankan Representative to visit this chamber – initiated this meeting. He also used this opportunity to present the developments in Sri Lanka to the chamber and to point out the importance of Sri Lanka as a regional hub for German companies.
One service of the chamber is to provide information and competent assistance to all member companies to find international customers and suppliers. This includes individual consultations, to enable convenient and appropriate access to different (foreign) markets.
“The Chamber also facilitates individual country events and we definitely can make use of this to further Sri Lankan interests with Germany,” said Jayewardene
Jayewardene further stated: “There are 80,000 companies from various spheres who are members of this chamber and Dusseldorf is famous for fashion, while North Rhine Westphalia is known for its heavy industry. We plan to organise a meeting between the Ports Authority Chairman Dr. Priyath B. Wickrama and the Chamber on his next visit to Germany. He is a specialist in doing business in Sri Lanka as a regional hub, which we feel would be the most useful for German companies.”
“What is important is that the Chamber has country desks for India, Japan, Korea, Russia and Israel. This means that whenever any German company wishes to obtain information on any of these countries to develop trade, investment, etc., they can contact the specific country desk and obtain accurate and up to date information from these specialists. Sri Lanka also needs to develop and encourage this type of country specific desk if we are to develop more trade and investment with Germany. We will work on doing this,” said a determined Consul General.
The North Rhine Westphalia Chamber of Commerce is made up of 16 regional chambers of commerce.
The Chamber works in collaboration with the German Chamber of Commerce in 125 locations abroad to provide a competent worldwide network that is predisposed to ensure North Rhine Wesphalia’s continued success in the German export market.
