UAE Trade Minister Lubna Al Qasimi to visit Sri Lanka

Lubna bint Khalid bin Sultan Al Qasimi, the Foreign Trade Minister of the United Arab Emirates will be arriving in Colombo on November 23 on a three-day official visit amidst renewed bilateral trade efforts between the two countries said, Industry and Commerce Minister, Rishad Bathiudeen.

Minister Bathiudeen announced of this visit at his special meeting with the top officials of the Commerce Department Al Qasimi will be leading a trade delegation based on the invitation by Minister Bathiudeen who called on Al Qasimi at the Abu Dhabi’s Foreign Trade Ministry office in May 2011.

“In our May 2011 meeting, we both agreed that the ‘trading hub’ outlook of both economies could jointly be used to avail global market opportunities,” Minister Bathiudeen said. Currently, UAE-Sri Lanka trade turnover stands at US $ 548.4 million (2010) of which Sri Lankan exports to UAE amounted to US $ 246.2 million, making UAE one of the key trading partners in the Middle East.