Ministers discuss Lanka, UK trade

Visiting British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Minister Alistair Burt met Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday.

The two Ministers discussed trade and investment ties between Sri Lanka and the UK, as well as Sri Lanka’s progress in development.

Burt emphasised the British Government’s commitment towards Sri Lanka, stating that a key part of his visit would be promoting bilateral trade between the two countries.

The UK is the second highest investor in Sri Lanka, with many British companies represented in the country, spanning sectors such as education, construction and financial services.

A number of Sri Lankan companies are also successfully doing business with the UK.

During the meeting Burt announced a further contribution of 3 million pounds by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) towards demining work in Sri Lanka.

Burt announced that the British High Commission (BHC) in Colombo would be launching websites in Sinhala and Tamil languages later in the day, which, along with the existing English langauge website, would cater to the Sri Lankan population.

The websites would contain information on key aspects of the BHC’s work in Sri Lanka, including visa information and updated news releases.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Minister of South Asia Alistair Burt, MP is on a two-day visit here.

This is the first Ministerial visit to Sri Lanka by the UK coalition Government.