Sri Lanka and Poland to boost bilateral economic ties

Sri Lanka and Poland have agreed to boost bilateral ties including an exchange delegation and special promotion at the upcoming Warsaw Fair 2012.

New measures and strong existing ties came up for discussion when the visiting Polish Under Secretary of State for Oriental Policy Jerzy Pomianowski paid a courtesy call on Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa yesterday in Colombo.

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa shakes hands with Polish Under Secretary of State for Oriental Policy Jerzy Pomianowski yesterday in Colombo as Honorary Consul General of the Poland in Sri Lanka Ken Balendra looks on – Pic by Chaminda Hittatiya

“Both parties agreed to exchange trade and investment delegation in order to revive the bilateral relations and review the progress of the new projects between the two countries. The Minister and the Polish Under Secretary agreed to have separate arrangements to promote Sri Lankan interest in Poland during the Warsaw Fair 2012. Sri Lanka will participate in this fair with Government and private sector institutions. Therefore it is easy to organise some events related to investment, trade and tourism promotions of Sri Lanka,” the Ministry said in a statement.

In his comment, Minister Rajapaksa said: “Sri Lanka has become an attractive destination for trade, investment and tourism in the world due to its strategic location at the centre of international sea and air routes.”

Pomianowski said Polish people are now reluctant to visit traditional tourist destinations such as the Middle East after the political destabilisation of these countries. Therefore, Polish tourists are interested in visiting in new attractive destination like Sri Lanka, he said.

Sri Lanka is a multi-religious and multicultural country. Tourist can enjoy beautiful sceneries, a good environment, heritage and clean beaches within a short span of time, he added.

Responding to a question posed by the Poland Under Secretary, Minister Rajapaksa said the majority of the Tamil Diaspora was gradually understanding the real situation of Sri Lanka and that they were happy with the outcome of the resettlement and reconstruction work and the peace building efforts of the Government. “Now most of the Tamil expatriates are visiting Sri Lanka, helping their families and relatives and buying real estate in Sri Lanka, however some members of the Diaspora still go against Sri Lanka, some hardcore supporters of the LTTE, some who want to remain in those countries. However the situation will change when these Diaspora members see new developments in the North Eastern Provinces themselves,” he added.

Piotr Opalinski, Minister Counsellor, Deputy Head of the Mission, Embassy of the Republic of Poland, Ken Balendra, Honorary Consul General of the Poland in Sri Lanka, Prof. Sunanda Madduma Bandara, Director General of Development and Communication, Bashwara Senanka Gunaratna, Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Sunil Hettiarachchi, Director General of Investment and Tourism and W.A.D.A. Wijesooriya, Director (Investment) also participated at this discussion.