The American Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka (AmCham) reiterated its commitment to foster trade and investment activities between Sri Lanka and the USA, to better garner more economic benefits in the future.
Speaking at the 27 Annual General Meeting of the AmCham, held in Colombo last week, Presantha Jayamaha, President of AmCham stressed that he would make every effort to add significant value to AmCham activities in the coming year.
“As a trade chamber, one of our primary mandatory is to improve cross border trade and remove restrictions. As such I want to thank the U.S Embassy for continuing to engage with AmCham and our membership, so that we all can participate and contribute to the economic growth of our respective nations.
Furthermore, I use this office to promote US relations and also to highlight the activities of U.S businesses in Sri Lanka,” Jayamaha said.
“The USA is the largest trading partner for Sri Lanka that is a fact and trade between both countries stands over US D 4 billion. US businesses and companies that export to the USA currently employ 250,000 people .We generate over USD 3 billion in foreign exchange earnings through exports to the USA. We represent some of the largest companies in the world in this region, bringing world class technology, education, manufacturing and services to this nation,” he said.
As the incoming board this year, he said AmCham hopes to embark on new activities in leadership development and thought leadership and this is in addition to the work carried on a range of matters from promoting diversity in the workplace , round travel discussions with government officials, trade discussions , handling corporate partner and membership issues and embassy related activities.
Furthermore, Jayamaha noted that AmCham intends to host the US-Sri Lanka trade show in 2020 after lapse of many years.
U.S. companies invest over USD 300 mn in Sri Lanka
The US government is not the only one investing in Sri Lanka’s future. U.S. companies have invested over USD300 million in Sri Lanka generating hundreds of high-quality jobs in industries ranging from high-end manufacturing to ICT business services, and nearly everything in between.” Alaina B. Teplitz, U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives told the AGM.
Speaking further on grants and direct development assistance the United States has provided to Sri Lanka, amounting to over USD 1bn, she said. The Ambassador said, “Over 10,000 households have directly benefited from USG assistance, and those households’ gross income is in excess of USD10.7 million.
Over 5,000 micro-enterprises have also benefited with total sales reported by all investment grantees of USD 68 million. Importantly, in a country that needs female workforce participation to increase economic growth, overall female participation in USG programs was reported at 26%,” Teplitz said.
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