The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Czech Chamber of Commerce at the Sri Lanka – Czech Republic Business Forum organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in association with the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Sri Lanka.
Milan Hovorka said, “the New Delhi based embassy to Sri Lanka is proud to bring together the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and the Czech Chamber of Commerce, because presently, bilateral trade is a mere 50 million USD, and there are almost no investments from either side. Therefore this is a step in the right direction to strengthen and promote business relations between Czech Republic and Sri Lanka.”
The Chief Guest for the occasion, Malik Samarawickrama, Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade said, “A few of the Czech business delegation that were in Sri Lanka comprised representatives of the pharmaceutical sector. This is a sector with which we are actively looking to develop.”
We have a new industrial zone planned with the pharmaceutical sector specifically in mind, and also the requirements for high quality water, and intellectual property protection. The reason we arranged this business mission to Sri Lanka is because our economy exports 4/5 of industrial production to Western European countries, and 1/2 of the exports are to our immediate neighbour Germany. “Due to our high employment rates, Czech Businesses are keen on seeking joint ventures in Sri Lanka to make use of its highly qualified labour and rich resources, in order to remain competitive and innovative.
We are also very much interested in trade exchange in order to provide a wide variety of goods for the consumers of the Czech Republic whose wages are high and increasing,” said Guest of Honour Milan Stech, President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, while addressing the forum.
“We have similar objectives and we enter into an alliance with Czech Chamber in order to promote the private sector business entities to become reciprocal partners and to extend all support cooperation and assistance to each other for the overall benefit of both countries,” said Rajendra Theagarajah, Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, have already signed 128 memoranda of understanding to expand and further strengthen strong relationships with overseas trade promotion organisations for the benefit of business community in Sri Lanka.
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