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| Developing economic cooperation in Srí Lanka |
| Colombo, 01.12.2014 |
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| Development of bilateral cooperation aimed at using the potential especially in economy were up to the discussion of the meeting of State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Peter Burian and Deputy Minister of External Affairs of Sri Lanka Neomal Perera and other representatives of the Ministry in Colombo on Wednesday and Thursday (November 27-28, 2014). Sri Lanka is a country with the fastest growing economy in the region; its potential is even further increased by the existing agreement on free trade with India and China and the resultant access to big markets – thus it offers Slovakia cooperation on third-country markets. They also expressed a mutual interest in restoring above-standard relations from the past, which would contribute to trade growth and other exchanges in, for example, tourism and education. Perera and Burian signed a memorandum on consultations between the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic and the Ministry of External Affairs of Sri Lanka that will foster the further development of the dialogue between the foreign affairs ministries.
They also broached current regional and international developments, as well as opportunities for cooperation within international organizations.
During the meeting with Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen, State Secretary Burian stressed the importance of the contacts among businessmen in terms of making the economic exchange more dynamic, and endorsed the interest in developing the bilateral contractual basis – preferentially focusing on supporting and creating a favorable business environment. Establishing direct economic partnerships were core themes of the talks with Mangala Yapa, Secretary-General of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, which is preparing the partnership with the Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the near future. The head of the oldest domestic chamber of commerce pointed to the strengths of the Sri Lanka economy – stable business environment, fast growth, liberalized market and free trade agreements with the countries in the region. The export of engineering and automotive production from the Slovak Republic could be augmented by new export areas like agriculture or the defense industry, according to Burian. Sri Lanka expressed its interest in the participation of the Slovak Republic in the development of railways, hydro energy and the rubber industry.
The visit also had a cultural dimension, as State Secretary Burian officially launched the Slovak film The Legend of the Flying Cyprian, which is showing during the ongoing 7th European Film Festival in Sri Lanka.
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Address : Euro-Brew Ltd., Hlboká 22, 917 01 Trnava, Slovakia
Tel. : +421 33 53 418 53, Fax : +421 33 53 418 52, E-mail : info@eurobrew.sk |
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