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By Channa Kasturisinghe

The National Chamber of Commerce (NCCSL) has taken the initiative in helping the business community in the Eastern Province to find solutions to their problems by setting up District Chambers of Commerce in Trincomalee and Batticaloa Districts.

The NCCSL has already spearheaded in setting up the Trincomalee District Chamber of Commerce. The inaugural meeting will be held today at Trincomalee District Secretariat. The NCCSL is also planning to set up the second district chamber in the Eastern Province in Batticaloa within the next couple of months, NCCSL President Chandra Embuldeniya told the Daily News yesterday.

"The ongoing peace process has created a good opportunity for the business community in the war affected areas to promote their businesses and to strengthen trade ties with the business community of the South.

However, it is vital that a Chamber of Commerce at the national level facilitate the business community in these areas to organise themselves to solve their problems independently.

Therefore, the NCCSL has decided not to charge a membership fee from these district chambers and to assist them in finding funding institutions to set up the chambers," Embuldeniya said. The NCCSL earlier assisted in setting up the Vavuniya District Chamber of Commerce and sent two delegations to Jaffna to assist the business community there.

"Vavuniya and Trincomalee are two important trading points in the North and the East. There is a lot of potential for business development in these areas but we should show the businessmen there how to reap the benefits of emerging business opportunities as a result of the peace process.

In Vavuniya we set up ten committees to represent different industries such as rice milling, food processing and handicrafts. We will set up similar committees in Trincomalee and Batticaloa chambers to identify particular problems and to find solutions. We will organise workshops and seminars to educate them on areas such as Sri Lanka Standard marking procedures," Embuldeniya said.

He said the NCCSL was assisted by the Ministry of Enterprise Development, Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion in setting up the District Chambers of Commerce.

The chief guest at today's inaugural meeting in Trincomalee will be the Ministry Secretary, Roy Jayasinghe while Trincomalee District Secretary, N.D.K Nelundeniya will be the guest of honour.

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