Sri Lanka and Vietnam can build stronger economic links: envoy

HANOI, Mar 27, 2010 (LBO) - Sri Lankan businesses have opportunities to get into the service sector in fast growing Vietnam while benefiting from Vietnamese agricultural technology and trade, the island's envoy to Hanoi said. The Sri Lanka mission here and Vietnamese authorities and business chambers are putting together a trade delegation to visit the country in May this year.

Interest

"There’s quite a degree of interest in Sri Lanka especially since the state visit of President Mahinda Rajapaksa last October and the successful Business Forum that was held here concurrently," ambassador K G I Amarasinghe said.

"The delegation will explore the opportunities for co-operation between the public and private sectors of the two countries."

The delegation is to be led by a deputy minister and will be made up of senior government officials and private entrepreneurs.

Vietnam has expressed interest in an oil exploration block in Sri Lanka's north-western Mannar basin and a team from state-run PetroVietnam had visited the island last October on a fact finding mission.

Vietnam has a state-run fee charging education service and demand for English education in particular is high, Amarasing