Sri Lanka, Kuwait ink IPPA

Sri Lanka and Kuwait signed the Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (IPPA) yesterday marking Sri Lanka's first such agreement with Gulf countries.

Undersecretary to the Ministry of Finance Khalifa M. Hamada signed the agreement on behalf of Kuwait while Sri Lanka's Ambassador to Kuwait Sarath Dissanayake signed for Sri Lanka at a ceremony at the Ministry of Finance of Kuwait. The negotiations on the IPPA were concluded in June, 2009.

Undersecretary to the Ministry of Finance, Khalifa M. Hamada expressed the hope that this agreement will pave the way to open new vistas of opportunities in Sri Lanka and thereby enable Kuwait to become an important partner in Sri Lanka's socio-economic development.

With the dawn of peace in Sri Lanka there is enormous potential for foreign investors to benefit in several sectors including tourism, hospitality, construction, infrastructure, agriculture and other sectors.

Ambassador Sarath Dissanayake said that under the agreement the Government of Sri Lanka will safeguard the interests of foreign investors and will offer them attractive incentives and tax benefits.