Expo 2012 renews foreign investor confidence in Sri Lanka

Apr 01, Colombo: Sri Lanka's premier international trade fair "Sri Lanka Expo 2012" with the attendance of over 1,300 foreign investors and buyers from across the globe, held in Colombo came to a conclusion Saturday.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa launched the four-day event organized by the Export Development Board (EDB) on Wednesday at the BMICH.
The much-awaited international fair held in 18 years to promote Sri Lanka's exports drew 1,350 visitors from 55 countries and allowed the 300 plus Sri Lankan exporters to showcase their merchandise to an international audience and earn global recognition.
The attendance of a large number of foreign investors and buyers is a clear indication of Sri Lanka's growing reputation as an exporter of quality products and the awareness in the world of the new investment opportunities present in the country following the end of its three-decade long armed conflict in May 2009.
President Rajapaksa at the opening ceremony of the mega exposition invited the foreign investors to discover the "challenges of opportunity" in the country urged them to earn the best profits for their confident investments.
He highlighted that the large foreign investor presence at the event was both a strong and valuable vote of confidence in Sri Lanka, as well as an expression of trust in the new opportunities for export trade.
The Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiyutheen addressing the gathering has pointed out that despite, "the World Trade Organization forecasting, only 5.8 percent world export growth for 2011, Sri Lanka's export sector showed strong resilience, by registering a highly commendable growth rate of 22.37 percent, in comparison to 2010."
Sri Lanka, despite a ballooning trade deficit of US$ 9.7 billion in 2011, has set a goal to double the export revenue to reach US$ 20 billion by 2025 from the US$ 10.5 billion it earned in 2011.
A large group of Indian businessmen from several Indian trade organizations in attendance at the Expo 2012 has met with the Minister and reiterated the commitment of Indian Industry towards Sri Lanka as a priority destination for Indian investment.
The Indian businessmen have expressed their intentions to enhance the trade and economic relations between the two countries to a new level with the trade reaching a peak of almost US$ 5 billion in 2011.
Sri Lanka is a priority destination for Indian companies and many leading companies have already set up joint ventures (JVs) in Sri Lanka in various fields, Udayan Ganguly, the head of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) delegation to Expo 2012 has said.
Business delegates from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who met the Sri Lankan Minister at the event have said that Expo 2012 is a viable platform for the UAE to identify the export product portfolio of Sri Lanka and they were surprised to by Sri Lanka's vast export portfolio.
Delegations from China, Malaysia, Indonesia and UK numbering over 400 attended the Expo 2012.
Sri Lanka's supportive government policies aim to foster foreign direct investments. The country has bilateral investment protection agreements with 27 countries and double taxation avoidance agreements with 38 countries and no restrictions on repatriation of earnings, fees, capital, and on forex transactions relating to current account payments.

Sri Lanka has proud record of safeguarding human rights

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said that he did not want lessons on human rights from outside, days after the UN Human Rights Council adopted a US-sponsored resolution censuring Colombo.

Addressing a public gathering in the central town of Balangoda, Rajapaksa Sunday said Sri Lanka’s human rights protection was inspired by the influence of Buddhism over a period of over 2,500 years. The President said it was his responsibility to resolve all problems faced by his people. Rajapaksa said his objective while appointing the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) was that he did not want the problems faced by the people carried forward to the next generation. The President said Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) was Sri Lanka’s own probe and no one had the right to force its implementation. He said he did not want lessons on protecting human rights from outside.

Rajapaksa’s comments were his first direct public reaction since the UN Human Rights Council on March 22 adopted the resolution against Sri Lanka.The resolution asks Sri Lanka to implement the LLRC recommendations towards reconciliation with the Tamil minority and for accountability over alleged rights violations during the last phase of the war against LTTE. agencies