With a view to drive the country’s trade, investment and tourism, Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB)is aggressively looking at Polish market by interacting with high powered trade delegation who was present in the country.
To this end, the EDB conducted a business forum yesterday in Colombo to ascertain the possibility of enhancing relationship between the two countries in terms of trade, investment and tourism promotion.
“Poland could use Sri Lanka’s strategic location advantage to boost connectivity to European Union (EU) in increasing trade related activities for the benefit of both countries. Poland is the EU’s number one export market and the advantage of duty exception which is enjoyed by over 7,000 products, Sri Lanka could gain much more by enhancing exports to Poland.
As the share of exports is small at present, the country could work towards exporting more products to EU market with better relationship with Poland,” Deputy Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade, Nalin Bandara Jayamaha said. “Measures need to be taken to gain a sizable market share from Poland as it is the second largest export market in the European region. The inauguration of non-stop flights between Warsaw, Poland and Colombo will provide an impetus for the growth in trade and tourism while Sri Lanka would market the country as a preferred destination in Europe as a whole, he said.
“The business forum could be considered as an opening for bigger cooperation in terms of cultural exchange and commerce. The trade has rapidly grown between Poland and Sri Lanka from US $ 19 million to $ 199 million over the past years. There is huge potential for growth and the two countries need to untapped this potential fast, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Poland, Maciej Lang said. “Poland is considered the fastest growing economy in the Central Europe. It has recorded 5.2 percent GDP growth last year. The inclusion of Poland in the EU single economy has given us a lot of opportunities . Sri Lanka could benefit from this. This is an ideal platform to grow trade and tourism. As air connectivity is established now it is easier than before to engage more in trade and commerce. This has also open up for more investment opportunities, he said. The Business Forum and B2B Meetings held yesterday are expected to harness the full potential in trade and tourism between the two countries.
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