Upon the invitation of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the country’s biggest business support organization, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Philippines Shobini Gunasekera delivered a presentation as a guest speaker on the first day of the 30th Mindanao Business Conference held virtually via Zoom and Facebook Live on September 23-24, 2021.
The comprehensive presentation, under the event’s International Trade and Cooperation segment, showcased existing and potential areas for economic cooperation between Sri Lanka and Mindanao.
In recognition of the long-standing ties, complementing strengths, and similarities of both countries, Ambassador Gunasekera encouraged the Mindanao business sector to explore trade and investment opportunities with Sri Lanka through mutually-beneficial engagements such as joint ventures, partnerships, and collaborations especially in the industries of agriculture, food processing, IT-BPM, logistics, mining, education, among many others.
Further, she also showcased investment opportunities in the upcoming Colombo Financial City as well as Sri Lanka’s tourism features to promote the country as a pandemic-stress buster destination for Filipino travelers.
The 30th Mindanao Business Conference, with the theme, “Changing Times, Challenging Roles in Mindanao,” focused on the most pressing issues concerning the Mindanao business community and solutions towards economic recovery under the present circumstances. This year’s conference was hosted by the General Santos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. in partnership with the Sarangani Chamber of Commerce and Industry and South Cotabato Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc.
The two-day event was attended by approximately 1000 representatives from Philippine government agencies, business support organizations, industry associations, the Mindanao business community, and other relevant stakeholders.
Mindanao is the southernmost region of the Philippine archipelago. A major breadbasket of the country, prospects for regional economic development in Mindanao continues to rise as it diversifies its economy with the rise of economic hubs such as Metro Davao and Metro Cagayan de Oro.
Embassy of Sri Lanka
Manila
01 October 2021
