UAE Trade Minister Lubna Al Qasimi to visit Sri Lanka

Saturday, 5 November 2011 00:06 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Minister of Foreign Trade of the United Arab Emirates Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid bin Sultan Al Qasimi will be arriving in Colombo on 23 November on a three-day official visit amidst renewed bilateral trade efforts between the two countries, Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen announced.

News of the visit was announced yesterday at a special meeting Bathiudeen held with the top officials of the Department of Commerce of Sri Lanka.

Al Qasimi will be leading a trade delegation based on an invitation by Bathiudeen, who paid a courtesy call on her at the Abu Dhabi’s Ministry of Foreign Trade office in May 2011.

“During our May 2011 meeting, we both agreed that the ‘trading hub’ outlook of both economies could jointly be used to avail global market opportunities,” Minister Bathiudeen added.

Currently, UAE-Sri Lanka trade turnover stands at US$ 548.4 m (2010), of which Sri Lankan exports to UAE amounted to US$ 246.2 m, making the UAE one of the key trading partners in the Middle East.

During the May 2011 meet, Minister Bathiudeen informed Al Qasimi of the unrealised future trade potential between the two countries in the background of renewed bilateral trade cooperation efforts.

The UAE has become the largest foreign direct investor to Sri Lanka among the Gulf countries. Among the well-known UAE conglomerates operating in Sri Lanka are Etisalat (mobile telecom), Al Ghuraia (real estate and manufacturing) and Al Futaim (automobile retailing), boosting Sri Lanka’s corporate sector outlook significantly.