Japanese trade delegation due here

A 40-member high level Japanese trade and investment mission is due to visit Sri Lanka in November. The 15th Joint Committee Meeting of the Sri Lanka-Japan and Japan-Sri Lanka Business Co-operation Committee will be held from November 18-20 in Colombo.

The 14th Joint Committee Meeting was held in Tokyo in May 2006.

A part of the joint meeting would also be devoted to one on one business meetings between the Japanese and Sri Lankan business community.

The objectives of the joint meetings are to promote trade, investment, tourism and services between the two countries.

The activities of the Sri Lanka-Japan Business Co-operation Committee (SLJBCC) are co-ordinated by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce whilst the activities of the Japan-Sri Lanka Business Co-operation Committee (JSLBCC) are co-ordinated by the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Tokyo, Japan. The two Committees were set up in 1979.

The President of the Sri Lanka-Japan Business Co-operation Committee, Daya Weththasinghe said, "Sri Lanka and Japan have had a long-standing historical relationship in political, trade and economic fields.

Japan assisted to develop large scale infrastructure projects specially power and energy, health, education, television system and IT. Among those projects the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Television Station, Sri Jayawardhanapura General Hospital, Teaching Hospital in Peradeniya, development of the Port of Colombo, Samanalawewa Hydro Power Plant, Mahaweli Road Bridge and the Friendship Bridge over Kelaniya River are monuments of the friendship between Sri Lanka and Japan.

At present, there are approximately 60 enterprises with Japanese investment operating in Sri Lanka under the BOI providing over 12,000 employment opportunities in addition to a number of small scale enterprises with Japanese investment operating under the normal laws of the country engaged in restaurants, apparel, tourism and travel and export trading.

Therefore, this would be an ideal opportunity for the local business community to interact with potential trade and investment partners from Japan.

Companies interested in attending the meetings could forward their company profiles with areas of business interest they wish to promote with Japan to the SLJBCC Secretariat at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, he said.