Economic Reforms and Public Distribution Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva met UK Minister of State for International Trade Conor Burns, MP, on the sidelines of the Sri Lanka Investment Forum 2019 held in London recently.
The meeting focussed on the promotion of UK – Sri Lanka bilateral trade, including means of maintaining current market access levels and preferences for Sri Lanka’s exports to the UK, following post-Brexit arrangements, given the importance of the UK market for Sri Lanka.
During the visit, Minister de Silva also met with the former Secretary of State for International Development and long-standing friend of Sri Lanka, Dr. Liam Fox and discussed issues of mutual interest.
Sri Lankan High Commissioner Manisha Gunasekera, Department of Commerce Director General Nimal Karunathilake and Minister Commerce of the High Commission Dr. Lakmini Mendis were associated with Minster de Silva at the meetings.
The Sri Lanka delegation to the Investment Forum also participated in an ICT Roundtable organised at the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce with the support of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, to increase awareness among businesses based in Manchester and explore opportunities available for potential partnerships in the ICT/BPM sector in Sri Lanka.
At the Roundtable, Dr. Rupak Kharel, Reader in Computing, Science and Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University, presented the audience with the overview of the IT sector in Manchester.
Around 12 companies in the UK representing different sectors participated in the event. Sri Lankan IT companies got an opportunity to present their company profiles to the audience as well as to hold B2B meetings with the participant companies from the British side.
The Sri Lankan delegation to the ICT Roundtable in Manchester was represented by Chairman of Board of Investment (BOI) of Sri Lanka Mangala Yapa, Director (Promotions) of BOI Nilupul De Silva, Second Secretary (Commercial) of Sri Lanka High Commission Senuja Samaraweera, Past Chairman of the Sri Lanka Association of Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM) Ruwindhu Peiris and representatives from GUI Solutions, FR Softtnet, Pyxle and Synapsis representing the ICT trade in Sri Lanka.
The UK is Sri Lanka’s second single largest export destination, and the largest within the EU, absorbing nearly 10 percent of our total exports to the world. The UK is also among the top five investors in Sri Lanka.
(Daily News)