Czech Republic keen on investing in Sri Lanka

Charumini DE SILVA

With the dawn of peace the Czech Republic has indicated its willingness to invest in Sri Lanka and a twelve-member delegation from the Czech Republic is now in Sri Lanka.

The delegation is mainly looking at assisting the Sri Lankan Government in infrastructure development.

The delegation held discussions with the Board of Investment (BOI) yesterday and will discuss further the investment areas where Czech entrepreneurs are interested in, a BOI official said.

Sri Lanka has an advantage of being a small, but compact country with a similar legal frame and the Czech Republic could invest without risk compared to other countries in the region.

The Czech Republic was not affected by the economic downturn due to their banks remaining stable. However, the only problem was that there were no direct flights between the Czech Republic and Sri Lanka, but the problem could be resolved after both parties sign an agreement for investments in Sri Lanka.

The Czech Republic delegation said that they are interested in developing infrastructure, railways, roads, airports, developing Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and expanding the tourism industry in Sri Lanka.

At present the Czech Republic holds the chairmanship of the European Union (EU) and is very keen on investing in Sri Lanka and assisting the Government of Sri Lanka to carry out its development programs.