Indian Commerce Minister in town tomorrow to lead greater ties with Sri Lanka

Minister of Commerce, Industry and Textiles of India Anand Sharma will visit Sri Lanka from 2-5 August 2012, coinciding with the prestigious ‘India Show – Land of Limitless Opportunities’ being organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce from 3-5 August 2012 at the BMICH, Colombo.

‘India Show’ is supported by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, High Commission of India and India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF). The Minister will be accompanied by a high-powered official and business delegation.  

‘India Show’ is being held in Colombo with the objective of promoting two-way flow of goods and services between Indian and Sri Lanka, providing a platform for Indian companies to showcase their strengths and capabilities, encouraging Indian investment in Sri Lanka as well as to provide opportunities to the Sri Lankan companies to build business partnerships with Indian companies.

The main features of ‘India Show’ are: A three-day exhibition at BMICH, Colombo; visit of Ministerial delegation; visit of high level business delegation; business conference; one-to-one meetings; and a cultural evening and a gala dinner.

Some of the key sectors represented at the exhibition are infrastructure, power, mineral fuels, oil and products, electrical machinery and parts, food products, agro-processing, mining machinery, railway equipment, rolling stock , paper, paper board and paper pulp, handicrafts, textiles and garments, information and communications technology, and financial services.

Minister Anand Sharma will inaugurate ‘The India Show’ on 3 August along with Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa, Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen and Senior Minister of International Monetary Cooperation Dr. Sarath Amunugama on 3 August. During the visit, Sharma is scheduled to have bilateral meetings with a number of Sri Lankan dignitaries.

‘India Show’ brings together over 105 companies from India for the exhibition. Two high-level business delegations from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) would be part of the delegation led by the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Textiles.

The 12-member CEOs delegation from the CII is led by Rajive Kaul, Chairman, Nicco Corporation Ltd. and includes R. Seshasayee, Executive Vice Chairman, Ashok Leyland, Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry, T.T. Ashok, Managing Director, Taylor Rubber Private Ltd., Suneel M Advani, Executive Vice Chairman, Blue Star Ltd., S. Abhaya Kumar, Managing Director, Shasun Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Sir Ganesan Natarajan, Wholetime Director and President, Ennore Coke Ltd. and K. Ramchand, Managing Director, IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd.

The inaugural meeting of the ‘India-Sri Lanka CEO Forum’ will also be held in Colombo on 4 August 2012. Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Airtel Ltd., will be leading the Indian delegation for the CEO Forum.

The other members of the Indian delegation are Vinod Desari, Managing Director, Ashok Leyland; Arup Roy Choudhury Chairman, National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd.; Tulsi Tanti,  Chairman and Managing Director, Suzlon Energy Ltd.; Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group; Hari Bhartia, Co-Chairman and Managing Director, Jubilant Life Sciences; Atul Punj, Chairman, Punj Lloyd; Hemant G. Contractor, Managing Director (IB), State Bank of India; Venu Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director TVS Motor Company, Veervijay Singh, Chief Operating Officer; and S. Dakwale, Managing Director, Lanka Indian Oil Corporation.

India and Sri Lanka enjoy a growing and vibrant trade and investment engagement in the overall context of warm and friendly relations between the two countries. Bilateral trade has expanded by a multiple of eight since the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was signed and reached approximately US$ 5 billion in FY 2011-12.

Sri Lanka is India’s largest trade partner in SAARC; India in turn is Sri Lanka’s largest trade partner worldwide. Both countries have undertaken investments in each other and Indian companies have established a strong investment footprint in Sri Lanka with cumulative FDI approvals of over $ 700 million since 2003.

Services trade, educational exchanges, infrastructure projects, tourism, and other sectors of economic cooperation too have expanded significantly. A number of developmental partnership projects for rehabilitation, reconstruction and human development undertaken by the Government of India in Sri Lanka have the involvement of Indian companies.

Sharma’s visit to Sri Lanka from 2-5 August 2012 in connection with the ‘India Show’ and the launch of the ‘India-Sri Lanka CEO Forum’ will significantly contribute to a closer economic relationship between India and Sri Lanka.