A Sri Lankan delegation headed by the State Minister of Finance, Capital Market and State Enterprise Reforms Ajith Nivard Cabraal visited the State of Qatar recently.
The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Doha organized a series of meetings for the State Minister Cabraal and the accompanying Sri Lankan delegation from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan delegation led by the State Minister met with Minister of Finance of the State of Qatar Ali Shareef Al Emadi and discussed issues of mutual interest, agreed to examine the ways and means to expand economic cooperation between the two countries and investment opportunities for Qatari companies in Sri Lanka.
The delegation also met with Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs of Qatar Yousuf Mohamed Al Othman Fakhroo.
During the meeting, the parties reviewed aspects of joint cooperation in the field of labour and social affairs, and ways to support the economic co-operation between the two countries.
The Sri Lankan delegation also met with the Governor of the Central Bank of Qatar Sheikh Abdulla Bin Saoud Al-Thani and the Deputy Governor Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Al-Thani, and discussed modalities to establish and enhance counter-party relationships among financial intermediaries in both countries.
The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Doha arranged several more productive meetings with the Qatar Governmental dignitaries for the delegation. During the meeting between Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al Mahmoud and the delegation, the discussion centered on investment opportunities in Sri Lanka. Chief Executive Officer of the Qatar Airways Akbar Al Baker reiterated that Qatar Airways operated daily flights to Colombo even during the COVID -19 pandemic and reassured the long-standing commitment and continued support for furthering the mutual relationship.
The delegation also had a fruitful discussion with Director of LULU Group in Qatar Dr. Mohamed Althaf Musliam Veetil. During the discussions, the necessity of boosting long-standing trade relations between Lulu Group and Sri Lanka spanning two decades was highlighted.
In addition, the Sri Lankan delegation had meetings with the CEOs of the leading banks in Qatar, namely Doha Bank and the Qatar National Bank (QNB). During these meetings, QNB and Doha Bank agreed to explore the opportunities in Sri Lanka and to further develop their current business operations in Sri Lanka.
Ambassador M. Mafaz Mohideen participated during the meetings with the Sri Lankan delegation headed by the State Minister Cabraal. Central Bank Deputy Governor Dhammika Nanayakara, Superintendent of Public Debt Dr. M.Z.M Aazim and Director Economic Research Development Dr. C. Amarasekara of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka as well as the Private Secretary to the State Minister Darshanie Amarasinghe and Media Secretary R.M.A.W. Rajapaksha formed the rest of the Sri Lanka delegation.