In the region:

Sri Lanka reaching highest per capita

Harshini Perera

New vistas of opportunities are opened now which we did not have for the past two decades. Sri Lanka was placed at the highest place in per capita income in the region.

Today, the dawn of peace has opened a new chapter where Sri Lanka can again reach the highest per capita income level in the region, said Exports Development and International Trade Minister, Prof. G.L. Peiris, Chief Guest at the 51st Annual General Meeting of the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) held at Hotel Galadari yesterday.

He said that the NCCSL has played a vital role in accelerating the Sri Lankan economy and directing the country towards development.

The NCCSL has embodied the Sri Lankan values into the system and filled the vacuum coming down from 1948. The Ayurveda 2009 - International Indigenous Healthcare Exhibition and Symposium conducted by the NCCSL was a success and it placed Sri Lanka on the world map, he said.

“The NCCSL has to work on the post-harvest losses which remains at a high degree of 40 percent in Asia as a waste of production and consumption.

The NCCSL has conducted several training sessions on manufacturing Green Tea and the advanced printing industry. On the part of the Government, we are looking forward to finding new markets for Sri Lankan products. The recent visit to Russia of the President, Mahinda Rajapaksa has drawn attention of investors on the hotel sector in Sri Lanka,” he said.

The new NCCSL President, Chandra Lal de Alwis said that since 1948 the NCCSL has supported 540 corporates and 2,000 Small and Medium Enterprises.

“There has been several training programs we conducted in foreign countries to enhance the capacity of our industrialists in different fields. We received a Rs. 2 billion donation from The Netherlands to strengthen the SME sector of the country. The NCCSL conducted the National Business Excellence Awards 2009 successfully last year,” he said.