President meets Japanese business leaders, inaugurates Sri Lanka Business Forum

President Mahinda Rajapaksa met leaders of Japan's corporate and industry sectors and inaugurated the Sri Lanka Business Forum yesterday, the final day of his four-day official visit to Japan.

During the meeting with Japanese business leaders, External Affairs Minister Prof G L Peiris and Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal spoke to the delegation about the economic climate in the country as well as areas of opportunities for potential investors.

The Sri Lankan delegation extended an invitation to the corporate leaders to visit Sri Lanka to see for themselves on the possibility of doing business in Sri Lanka.

A member of the Japanese corporate community spoke favourably of Sri Lanka's environment for potential investors.

"For many investors, predictably is very important," he said about the political stability in the country.

The Japanese delegation said even though Sri Lanka - with its roughly 20 million population - is a relatively small market for investors, the good relations Sri Lanka maintains with its neighbours open up a host of opportunities for companies to use Sri Lanka as a central location for trade within the region.