INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Sri Lanka has expressed its desire to purchase joint ventures in Bangladesh, especially in synthetic material manufacturing, which holds
significant capacity for financiers from both nations, Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dharmapala Weerakkody stated today.He made
these remarks during a courtesy contact Taskeen Ahmed, president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & & Industry (DCCI), at the chambers
office in the capital, according to a press release.Weerakkody highlighted several sectors as extremely guaranteeing for joint endeavor
financial investments, including healthcare, tourism, big hotels, information technology, education, and pharmaceuticals.He mentioned that
both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and have maintained a strong and friendly
bilateral diplomatic relationship for lots of years.He urged Bangladeshi business owners to utilize Sri Lankas experience and technical
know-how to establish the countrys local tourism sector.The high commissioner also stated that Sri Lanka has actually already signed
preferential trade agreements (PTAs) with numerous countries, and negotiations with Bangladesh are set to begin quickly to even more expand
bilateral trade and investment.During the conference, DCCI President Taskeen Ahmed stated that bilateral trade in between Bangladesh and Sri
Lanka reached $134.06 million in the fiscal year (FY) 2023-24
This marked a significant boost from the $93.11 million tape-recorded in FY 2019-20, reflecting a notable yearly development rate of 9.5
percent, he said.Taskeen added that a significant number of Sri Lankan investors, especially from the banking, textile, power, building, and
pharmaceutical sectors, have already made foreign direct investments of $428.56 million in Bangladesh.He also encouraged Sri Lankan business
owners to think about investing even more in agriculture and food processing, the construction industry, health care, tourist, IT, and
fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG)
Taskeen Ahmed stressed Sri Lankas competence and technical help in areas such as deep-sea fishing, tourist, and the shipping industry.He
also proposed that settlements at the government level be expanded to help with the early signing of the proposed PTA, which would
substantially enhance bilateral trade and investment.Among others, Razeev H Chowdhury, senior vice-president of the DCCI, Md Salem Sulaiman,
vice-president, and Srimali Jayarathne, counsellor (commercial) at the Sri Lankan High Commission in Bangladesh, were likewise
present.Source: The Daily Star-- Agencies
