Sri Lankan delegation visits Vietnam for trade opportunities

Sept 15, 2017 (LBO) - A 12-member Sri Lankan delegation has visited Vietnam this month to explore trade opportunities and establish long-term connections with electronic and electrical industries. Initiated by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board, representatives from Tos Lanka Co., Lanka Harness Co., Noratel International, Hitech Solutions, Sierra Cables, St. Theresa Industries and Kelani Cables PLC were part of the delegation. "The objectives of the visit was to identify potential partners to invest in Vietnam, explore opportunities available in the Vietnamese market for trading and establish long term connections with electronic/electrical industry in Vietnam," the Sri Lankan embassy in Ha Noi said in a statement. Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Vietnam, Hasanthi Urugodawatte Dissanayake, and First Secretary (Commercial) of the Embassy, Srimali Jayarathna also participated in events. Along with visits to three provinces in Vietnam where electronic/electrical manufacturing companies are located, Ambassador and the delegation had interactions with the Chairmen of the People’s Committees of the Vin Phuc and Bac Jiang Provinces, that facilitated the visits to industrial zones. Discussions focused on enhancing relations with Sri Lanka in the electric/electronic sector specifically and exploring possible collaboration in areas such as trade, tourism, technical cooperation, education and culture. On 5th September, a B2B session was organized by the Embassy with the assistance of the Ministry of Industry & Trade of Viet Nam, the Vietnam Electronic Industries Association, the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce Industry (VCCI), the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Ha Noi, and Korean Chamber of Commerce in Viet Nam. Dissanayake said the event is a beginning of a new chapter in the cooperation of the electronic and electrical industry of both countries and hoped that it would expand to other sectors in the future. Around 40 Vietnamese companies participated the session. The Sri Lankan delegation also participated in a working session arranged by the Investment Promotion Center - North Vietnam (IPCN) of the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA). A comprehensive presentation was made on how and why Vietnam has become an attractive investment destination for foreign investors, as well as available opportunities. Officials from the Vietnam Investment Development Group also attended the session. The Delegation also met senior officials of the Viet Nam Research Institute of Electronics, Informatics and Automation (VIELINA), a research and development institution in the field of electronics, informatics and automation coming under the purview of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Officials agreed to support Sri Lankan electronic and electrical companies upon requests from the Sri Lankan side. This visit could be considered as a significant visit and marked an important milestone in the cooperation between the industries of the two countries, the embassy said.