Asst. USTR brief the private sector:

Opportunities galore in Sri Lanka

Market-friendly economic environment, rapidly stabilizing security conditions and emerging investment opportunities make Sri Lanka the ideal place for doing business, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the US, Jaliya Wickramasuriya told a business gathering here recently.

“With democratic institutions and civil administration already in place and many international donors joining hands with the Government, the eastern province of Sri Lanka offers exceptional investment opportunities to the private sector entrepreneurs, local and foreign”, Wickramasuriya said at an investment briefing at the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington D.C.

The briefing, jointly organized by the Office of the USTR, the US Chamber of Commerce and the Embassy in Washington D.C., marks the initial step toward ensuring the maximum participation of the private sector in the post-conflict development efforts in the northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka.

Senior representatives of several private sector and US government authorities, including the Office of the USTR, Department of Commerce, Department of Agriculture were present.

The Ambassador said that the conflict in Sri Lanka had reached its final days and the Government was already consulting with all political parties for a lasting political solution, supported by a proper economic development strategy.

He also highlighted the long-established cordial relations between the US and Sri Lanka and the importance of the US market for Sri Lankan products.

Assistant United States Trade Representative (USTR) for South Asia Michael Delaney told the gathering, “Opportunities in Sri Lanka are so many, I can think of only a very short list of activities that cannot be pursued by the private sector for tangible economic benefits.”

Delaney said that he had visited Sri Lanka twice over the past few months, including a trip to Trincomalee, and was impressed with numerous opportunities the north and east offers to private sector investors.

Of late, the US- Sri Lanka commercial relations have taken shape within the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement - (TIFA) signed between the two countries in 2002.

On the occasion of the seventh Meeting of the TIFA Joint Council, which is scheduled to be held in Colombo this October, the Embassy and the Office of the USTR look forward to organizing a delegation of private sector entrepreneurs to visit Sri Lanka to offer a first-hand look at emerging investment opportunities.