'Sri Lanka could be gateway to S. Asian markets'

Anjana Samarasinghe

GRANTS: Sri Lanka could be the gateway to South Asian markets, said First Secretary of the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Sri Lanka Alida Ritsema speaking at the third grant disbursement ceremony for the SME sector enterprises which was held recently under the "Grow your business" project. 'The Sri Lankan business culture offers a liberal environment.

"Sri Lanka has free trade agreements with some of the countries in South Asia, which could strengthen their trade relationships in South Asia.

"Trade between Sri Lanka and the Netherlands is stable, she said. The Netherlands has identified that SMEs play a vital role in the country's economy and they have come forward to assist local SMEs.

" The Netherlands is happy about this effective and transparent system of distributing funds for the SME development in Sri Lanka", she said.

Under this project, assistance is granted on a cost sharing basis for purchase of capital goods and other equipment to enhance the efficiency of the businesses. Secretary General of the NCCSL, E.M Wijetilleke said this is the third fund disbursement of the project and the NCCSL is selecting these recipients through applications received by the Chamber.