Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha said that the investment environment in Sri Lanka for Indian investors is conducive not only because of its stable leadership but also due to the strong bilateral relationship between Sri Lanka and India. This was consolidated on following the early visits of the President, Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister to India where areas of cooperation was fully reviewed.
Addressing the webinar ‘Deepening Economic Collaboration between India and Sri Lanka’, organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) jointly with the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies, Sri Lanka (LKI), on 21 July 2020, Foreign Secretary Aryasinha said, “India is among the top 5 foreign investors in Sri Lanka. The government is committed to facilitating, protecting and promoting the liberal investment climate in Sri Lanka by continuing to realign the systems and procedures to suit modern business needs. The prospective investors are encouraged to take advantage of these untouched investment opportunities in the island.”
Highlighting the potential areas of investment in Sri Lanka, he said that the government is targeting more investment in high value products. “India is strong in sectors like textiles, IT, agribusiness and the private sector of our two countries can explore collaboration related to investment, technology transfer in these sectors,” the Foreign Secretary added.
He said “in the manufacturing sector, we would welcome Indian businesses in developing industrial zones, automotive components, pharma, textiles and engineering, which are areas that could offer huge potential. The ongoing infrastructure improvement projects and development of roads, ports and airports will contribute and facilitate connecting linkages for the business sector,” he added.
The Secretary noted that “Sri Lanka also has enormous potential as a tourist destination, given that Indians are approximately 20% of our tourist arrivals. Investment opportunities could be considerable in this sector as well, following in the footsteps of the Taj and ITC groups’ profitable investment in the hospitality sector, which has also contributed to boosting the quality of Sri Lankan tourism”.
Emphasizing on the policy reforms undertaken by the government, he said, “We are taking a number of measures to strengthen the investment climate and investment laws are being reviewed to suit the modern-day requirement. All efforts of our government are to create an economy firmly based on foreign and domestic private investments, driven by a dynamic and forward-looking private sector.”
Elaborating on the bilateral trade between the two countries, Foreign Secretary Aryasinha said “India accounts for 20 percent of total Sri Lankan imports and is the third largest export destination for Sri Lanka. Commenting on Sri Lankan exports, he said that difficulties in market access, often created due to non-tariff barriers in receiving countries, has become an impediment to our farmers. He urged FICCI to collaborate with the Sri Lankan Mission in New Delhi to particularly help boost the export of Sri Lankan spices and concentrates including pepper to the Indian market.
He added that in terms of exports, “Sri Lanka acts as a gateway not only to the Indian sub-continent, but also to affluent consumers in the European Union. This will clearly open new opportunities for Indian investors who can operate from Sri Lanka on a preferential basis, and access the large market of India, as well as the EU”.
High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay, said that the current time calls for policies oriented to the future and the ones that balances the need for economic security with efficient utilization of complementary economic strengths of the two countries. “As India moves towards Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliance), its integration with global supply and value chains will be an added opportunity for our close partners like Sri Lanka. This will build more long-term ties with our commercial entities and enhance capacities, promote employment and increase prosperity.
President, FICCI Dr Sangita Reddy said that healthcare and pharma are potential sectors of collaboration between India and Sri Lanka. Other focus sectors like tourism and hospitality have been strong areas of mutual interest. These two sectors are also among the worst affected as a result of the pandemic and we should discuss ways to rejuvenate them. She urged both governments to revive the India-Sri Lanka CEO forum to explore opportunities in business and investment.
Chair, South Asia Regional Council, FICCI and President, Group Public Affairs & Member of the Group Executive Board, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Manoj Chugh said that there are new sectors which are yet to be tapped and that Indian and Sri Lankan companies should form alliances to tap them.
Chief Operating Officer, Ashok Leyland Nitin Seth; Co-Chair, South Asia Regional Council, FICCI and Director - International Business CNH Industrial (India) Pvt. Ltd. Ashok Anantharaman; Executive Director, Investment Promotion, Board of Investment of Sri Lanka Prasanjith Wijayatilake; Director, Tourism Planning, Development and Investor Relations, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority Dr Prasad Jayasuriya and Head of Business Development, Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology Dr Lakshitha Pahalagedara also shared their perspective on strengthening India-Sri Lanka economic relationship.
Board Member of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute Suganthie Kadirgamar, Additional Secretary Economic Affairs, P. Amza, Director General South Asia and SAARC Division Aruni Ranaraja of the Ministry of Foreign Relations and Acting High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India Niluka Kadurugamuwa were also present during the webinar.
Opening Remarks by Mr. Ravinatha Aryasinha,
Secretary Foreign Relations Sri Lanka
Dr. Sangita Reddy, President, FICCI and Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals,
Mr. Manoj Chugh, Chair, South Asia Regional Council, FICCI and President – Group Public Affairs & Member of the Group Executive Board, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.
Mr. Rajan Bharti Mittal, Co-Chair Designate India Sri Lanka CEOs Forum, Past President, FICCI and Vice Chairman Bharti Enterprises Limited,
Distinguished members from the Indian industries,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a pleasure to address you today in opening this webinar, jointly organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute, to promote investments in Sri Lanka by Indian investors.
In early January this year, Hon. Dinesh Gunawardena, Minister of Foreign Relations had the privilege of meeting and addressing the distinguished members from the Indian industries and potential investors at the FICCI in Delhi during my official visit to the Capital.
The FICCI, with their gracious hospitality, had organized a very successful session at which Minister was able to provide a comprehensive picture of investment opportunities available in Sri Lanka for potential Indian investors.
At that session, the Foreign Minister invited the FICCI to send a delegation to Sri Lanka, so that we could take forward the work we have started, forging a new partnership. Unfortunately, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic led to travel restrictions resulting in a pause in physical travel even within our own region of South Asia that made a visit to Sri Lanka impossible for FICCI.
It makes me very happy however, that FICCI and LKI found a way to overcome this physical hurdle to connect online through this webinar. You have used an innovative medium to transcend physical hurdles, and I hope that this will serve to inspire both sides to adopt new and innovative approaches to doing business without allowing various types of constraints and hurdles to discourage us and hold us back.
This webinar takes place at an important time and I am grateful to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for organizing this webinar at this time, when economic recovery has become a top priority for all nations including Sri Lanka’s and India’s following the severe toll of the global pandemic.
This is the time we should draw inspiration from our past successes, cooperation and pioneering spirit to chart our way forward for mutual benefit. As you know very well, India and Sri Lanka were the first in the region to enter into a Free Trade Agreement over two decades ago. It was the first for India and it was the first for Sri Lanka. Now, at this time when both our economies are faced with a crisis which has no parallel in recent times, we must cooperate and work together closely more than ever before to not just mitigate the adverse impact of the pandemic on our economies but to look for sustainable cooperation through targeted and strategic investment decisions that could help us maximize benefit of complementariness.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The investment environment in Sri Lanka for Indian investors is conducive, not only because we have a strong and stable leadership, but also due to the fact that there is a remarkable strengthening of the Sri Lanka- India bilateral relationship at the political level recently.
There was a significant growth in our bilateral relationship, particularly after the Presidential Elections in Sri Lanka last year. His Excellency President Gotabaya Rajapaksa undertook a very successful State visit to India in November last year, followed by an official visit by the Honourable Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in February this year. Honourable Dinesh Gunawardena, Minister of Foreign Relations concluded a very fruitful visit to Delhi in early January this year, when the Minister met and addressed you. All these high-level exchanges have further consolidated our bilateral ties.
We are benefiting from the Hon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’ of India and the two countries enjoy a multi-faceted partnership and development cooperation.
These political ties provide us with a very positive and conducive environment for investment and to also enhance trade with each other.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This brings us to the question, ‘why Sri Lanka?’ Let me elaborate:
When we talk about our relations, we can see that business ties between Sri Lanka and India are rooted deep, linked, and date back to many millennia.
Sri Lanka is one of India’s largest trading partners in the SAARC Region. India in turn is Sri Lanka’s largest trade partner globally. Trade between the two countries grew rapidly particularly after the entry into force of the India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement in March 2000. However, difficulties in market access, often created due to non-tariff barriers, has become an impediment to our farmers. I urge you to collaborate with the Sri Lankan Mission in New Delhi to particularly help boost the export of Sri Lankan spices and concentrates, including pepper, to the Indian market.
Two-way trade that stood at US$ 658 million when the agreement was implemented in the year 2000 has increased to US$ 3 billion in 2010 and US$ 4.6 billion in 2019. India accounts for almost twenty percent of total Sri Lankan imports and is the third largest export destination for Sri Lanka. In 2019, Sri Lanka imported goods for the total value of US$ 3.8 billion, while exports to India represented US$ 759.37million. We can bridge this deficit by increased Sri Lankan exports fueled by a higher quantum of Indian investment, to supply to the Indian market. This will be a win-win situation for both countries.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As many leading Indian firms have already found out, Sri Lanka is a center point for investments in the region. Although Sri Lanka is a market of twenty-one million people, we are unique in that since we offer duty free market as a gateway not only to the Indian sub- continent, but also to affluent consumers in the European Union.
This will clearly open up new opportunities for India, specifically for the members of FICCI in the manufacturing and exports segment, and other foreign investors who can locate their operations in Sri Lanka, on a preferential basis and access the large market in India as well as the European market.
We also have an FTA with Pakistan, and recently we concluded an FTA with Singapore. Sri Lanka is also negotiating a new comprehensive FTA with China and Thailand.
With preferential access to these markets, Sri Lanka will be well-placed to act as a bridge for Indian investors seeking to penetrate the regional markets on a preferential basis. These FTAs with India, Singapore, China and Pakistan will give companies located in Sri Lanka preferential access to a market of over three billion consumers.
In the past, poor infrastructure facilities in our two countries made it difficult to take advantage of geographical proximity due to high transport and transaction costs. The ongoing infrastructure improvements and development of roads, ports and airports will contribute and facilitate connecting linkages for the business sector.
We are undertaking a number of measures to strengthen the investment climate. The investment laws are being reviewed and reformed to suit modern requirements.
I wish to emphasis that all efforts of our government are to create an economy firmly based on foreign and domestic private investment, driven by a dynamic and forward-looking private sector and our target is to attract much more investments in high value products. In doing so, Sri Lanka wishes to gain from transfer of technology. Our highly literate work force is quite competent to adjust to any new technological sharing.
India is strong in industry sectors like textiles, Information Technology, Agri – business and the private sector of the two countries could explore collaboration related to investment, technology transfer, value addition processes in these sectors.
India is among the top five foreign investors in Sri Lanka. I could name a few big players such as, Ashok Leyland, TATA Group, Taj Hotels, Piramal Glass Limited, Ultratech Cement, Ambuja Cement, Nilkamal Ltd. with having presence in the hotel industry, manufacturing etc.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Government is committed in facilitating, protecting and promoting the liberal investment climate in Sri Lanka by continuing to re-align the systems and procedures to suit the modern business needs and the prospective investors are encouraged to take advantage of these untapped investment opportunities in the island.
According to the Sri Lanka government’s policy framework, it is expected to position the country as an export-oriented economic hub at the Centre of the Indian Ocean. With the completion of the Port City Project, Colombo is expected to be the Financial Hub of the Region. It may be worthwhile to explore how Indian businesses could be integrated with other countries that would be involving with the Financial Hub.
Under the Colombo Port City project, industry members of FICCI could explore investment opportunities in the construction industry, IT related service sector, logistics, real estate etc.
The Western Region Mega Polis Plan, in the area around Colombo, is an urban planning, zoning, and development project aimed at creating a planned Megapolis in Sri Lanka's Western Province by 2030. Expectation of investment opportunities could create high level of business.
These projects will generate enormous investment opportunities in various forms of infrastructure; transport; real estate, both commercial and residential, including large-scale affordable housing programs; zones for financial and IT-enabled services; logistics, upgrading of ports and airports; manufacturing, where a series of industrial zones are being established; and training and skills development.
On manufacturing, we would welcome Indian businesses in developing Industrial Zones, automotive components, automobiles; `pharmaceuticals, textile, and engineering, which are areas that could offer great potential.
Sri Lanka has enormous potential as a tourist destination as well. Investment opportunities are considerable in this sector. India is ranked number one as the source with highest number of tourist arrivals into Sri Lanka with approximately 20% of our total tourist arrivals. Taj and ITC Hotels have already invested in Sri Lanka in the hospitality sector which has also contributed to boosting the quality of Sri Lankan Tourism.
Following Hon. Minister’s visit to Delhi earlier this year, the Export Development Board had organized a formal discussion with the stakeholder organizations including Board of Investment, Department of Commerce and Trade Chambers on 5th March 2020 at the EDB. During this meeting, it had been proposed to:
- Organize inward and outward delegations for exploring the Indian market for Sri Lankan potential products; and
- For the Board of Investment to organize an investment promotion forum.
In view of the current COVID situation which prevents physical trade promotional events, we initiated promotional programs virtually which include,
- a webinar jointly organized by ASSOCHAM, India and Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Sri Lanka on 15 May 2020 to discuss the post pandemic economic recovery.
- an interactive video – conference organized by Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) on 22 May 2020 with the participation of Federation Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sri Lanka (FCCISL) and Colombo Chamber of Commerce to discuss trade and investment opportunities between the two countries; and
- a video – conference, organized by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India on 1 May 2020, wherein Federation of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka participated.
Currently, the EDB and BOI work jointly to promote export led investments. Below sectors have been selected under this program.
Rubber Sector (Tyres (Solid & Pneumatic), Auto parts) , Smart Apparels & PPE, Electronic and Electrical products, ICT Sector, Mineral Based products, (Graphene & Related products), Food Processing and Pharmaceutical Sector
The EDB, I am told, is currently working to prepare a “Market Entry Strategy to India” which has already started its first phase of selecting a suitable research and consultancy agency to undertake a research based study report. The second phase will be on creating linkages between the buyers and sellers in the two countries with the objective of increase exports to India.
The EDB had also organized Sri Lanka’s participation at the “India International Mega Trade Fair (IIMTF)” to explore Indian Market for the Sri Lanka’s export product of Herbal & Personal Care, Handicraft, Ceramic, Spices & organic Products, Hand-made floral arrangement, Lace creation and Electrical & Electronic.
In conclusion, Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish to emphasize that India and Sri Lanka being neighbours, have so much in common – our culture, language ties, religious links, which provide a foundation to build synergies and promote trade and investment links. Let these links be the gateway to our common prosperity.
The potential is out there to be tapped, which would benefit both countries. I wish FICCI to be the bridge between the businesses of the two countries.
I once again thank the FICCI and the LKI for organizing this webinar and inviting me to make the opening remarks. I wish extremely fruitful deliberations at the webinar today.
Thank you.
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මාධ්ය නිවේදනය
ආයෝජන සඳහා හිතකර, ලිහිල් පරිසරයක් නිර්මාණය කිරීමට පහසුකම් සැලසීම, එය ආරක්ෂා කිරීම හා ප්රවර්ධනය කිරීම සඳහා ශ්රී ලංකා රජය දක්වන ඇපකැපවීමෙන් වාසි ලබාගන්නා ලෙස ඉන්දියානු ආයෝජකයන්ගෙන් විදේශ ලේකම් ආර්යසිංහ මහතා ඉල්ලා සිටියි
ඉන්දීය ආයෝජකයින් සඳහා ශ්රී ලංකාවේ ආයෝජන පරිසරය හිතකර වන්නේ එහි ස්ථාවර නායකත්වය නිසා පමණක් නොව, ශ්රී ලංකාව සහ ඉන්දියාව අතර පවතින ශක්තිමත් ද්විපාර්ශ්වික සබඳතාවය නිසා ද බව විදේශ ලේකම් රවිනාථ ආර්යසිංහ මහතා පැවසීය. ජනාධිපතිවරයා, අග්රාමාත්යවරයා සහ විදේශ අමාත්යවරයා ඉන්දියාවේ කළ මුල් සංචාරයන්හි දී සහයෝගීතා ක්ෂේත්රයන් පූර්ණ වශයෙන් සමාලෝචනය කිරීම මඟින් මෙය තහවුරු විය.
2020 ජූලි 21 වැනි දින ශ්රී ලංකාවේ ලක්ෂ්මන් කදිර්ගාමර් ජාත්යන්තර සබඳතා හා උපායමාර්ගික අධ්යයන ආයතනය (LKI) සමඟ එක්ව ඉන්දියානු වාණිජ හා කර්මාන්ත සම්මේලනය (FICCI) විසින් සංවිධානය කරන ලද ‘ඉන්දියාව සහ ශ්රී ලංකාව අතර ආර්ථික සහයෝගීතාව වැඩිදියුණු කිරීම’ යන වෙබ්නාර් සාකච්ඡාව අමතමින්, “ශ්රී ලංකාවේ ඉහළම විදේශ ආයෝජකයින් 5 දෙනා අතර ඉන්දියාව සිටී. නූතන ව්යාපාරික අවශ්යතාවන්ට සරිලන පරිදි ක්රමවේදයන් හා ක්රියා පටිපාටි අඛණ්ඩව යථා තත්ත්වයට පත් කිරීම මගින් ශ්රී ලංකාවේ ලිහිල් ආයෝජන වාතාවරණයක් සඳහා පහසුකම් සැලසීම, ආරක්ෂා කිරීම සහ ප්රවර්ධනය කිරීම සඳහා රජය කැපවී සිටී. දිවයිනේ මෙම උපයෝජනය නොකළ ආයෝජන අවස්ථාවන්ගෙන් ප්රයෝජන ගැනීමට අනාගත ආයෝජකයින් දිරිමත් කරනු ලැබේ.” යැයි විදේශ ලේකම් රවිනාථ ආර්යසිංහ මහතා පැවසීය.
ශ්රී ලංකාවේ ආයෝජන කළ හැකි ක්ෂේත්ර අවධාරණය කරමින් ඔහු පවසා සිටියේ, ඉහළ වටිනාකමකින් යුත් නිෂ්පාදන සඳහා වැඩි වශයෙන් ආයෝජන සිදුකිරීමට රජය අපේක්ෂා කරන බවයි. “රෙදිපිළි, තොරතුරු තාක්ෂණ, කෘෂි ව්යාපාර වැනි ක්ෂේත්ර සම්බන්ධයෙන් ඉන්දියාව ශක්තිමත් වන අතර, අපේ දෙරටේ පෞද්ගලික අංශවලට මෙම ක්ෂේත්රවල ආයෝජන, තාක්ෂණික හුවමාරුව පිළිබඳ සහයෝගීතාවයන් ගවේෂණය කළ හැකිය” යනුවෙන් විදේශ ලේකම්වරයා වැඩිදුරටත් පැවසීය.
“නිෂ්පාදන අංශයේ, කාර්මික කලාප සංවර්ධනය කිරීමේ දී ඉන්දියානු ව්යාපාර අපි සාදරයෙන් පිළිගන්නා අතර, මෝටර් රථ උපාංග, ඖෂධ, රෙදිපිළි හා ඉංජිනේරු කටයුතු යන අංශයන්හි ව්යාපාර අවස්ථා විශාල වශයෙන් ලබා දිය හැකි ක්ෂේත්ර වේ. දැනට සිදු වෙමින් පවතින යටිතල පහසුකම් වැඩිදියුණු කිරීමේ ව්යාපෘති, සංවර්ධනය කරමින් පවතින මාර්ග, වරාය සහ ගුවන්තොටුපල ව්යාපාරික අංශය සඳහා සම්බන්ධතා යා කිරීමට දායක වනු ඇත” යි ඔහු පැවසීය.
“මෙහි පැමිණෙන සංචාරකයින්ගෙන් 20% ක් පමණ ඉන්දියානුවන් වන බැවින්, ශ්රී ලංකාවට සංචාරක ගමනාන්තයක් ලෙස වර්ධනය කිරීමට විශාල අවස්ථාවක් පවතී. ටාජ් සහ අයිටීසී (ITC) සමූහවල ආගන්තුක සත්කාර ක්ෂේත්රයේ ලාභදායී ආයෝජනයන් අනුගමනය කරමින් සංචාරක ව්යාපාර අංශයේ ද සැලකිය යුතු මට්ටමක ආයෝජන අවස්ථා පැවතිය හැකි අතර ශ්රී ලංකා සංචාරක ව්යාපාරයේ ගුණාත්මකභාවය ඉහළ නැංවීමට ද ඒවා හේතු වී ඇත” යි විදේශ ලේකම්වරයා සඳහන් කළේය.
රජය විසින් සිදුකරන ලද ප්රතිපත්ති ප්රතිසංස්කරණ පිළිබඳව අවධාරණය කරමින් ඔහු කියා සිටියේ, “ආයෝජන වාතාවරණය ශක්තිමත් කිරීම සඳහා අපි පියවර ගණනාවක් ගනිමින් පවතින අතර, නූතන අවශ්යතාවයට සරිලන පරිදි ආයෝජන නීති සමාලෝචනය කරමින් සිටිමු. ක්රියාශීලී හා ඉදිරි දැක්මකින් යුත් පෞද්ගලික අංශයක් විසින් මෙහෙයවනු ලබන විදේශීය හා දේශීය පෞද්ගලික ආයෝජන මත ස්ථිරව පදනම් වූ ආර්ථිකයක් නිර්මාණය කිරීම සඳහා අපගේ රජයේ සියලු ප්රයත්න දරයි.” යනුවෙනි.
දෙරට අතර ද්විපාර්ශ්වික වෙළඳාම පිළිබඳව විස්තර කරමින් විදේශ ලේකම් ආර්යසිංහ මහතා පැවසුවේ, ශ්රී ලංකාවේ සමස්ත ආනයනයන්ගෙන් සියයට 20 ක් ඉන්දියාව සතු වන අතර, එය ශ්රී ලංකාවේ තුන්වැනි විශාලතම අපනයන ස්ථානය ද වන බවයි. ශ්රී ලාංකික අපනයන පිළිබඳව අදහස් දක්වමින්, අපනයනය කරන රටවල පවතින තීරුබදු නොවන බාධක හේතුවෙන් බොහෝ විට නිර්මාණය වී ඇති වෙළඳපල ප්රවේශය පිළිබඳ දුෂ්කරතා, අපේ ගොවීන්ට බාධාවක් වී ඇති බව ඔහු පැවසීය. ගම්මිරිස් ඇතුළු ශ්රී ලාංකික කුළුබඩු හා සාන්ද්රණ ඉන්දියානු වෙළඳපොළ වෙත අපනයනය කිරීම ඉහළ නැංවීම සඳහා නව දිල්ලියේ ශ්රී ලංකා දූත මණ්ඩලය සමඟ සහයෝගයෙන් කටයුතු කරන ලෙස ඔහු ඉන්දියානු වාණිජ හා කර්මාන්ත සම්මේලනයෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටියේය.
අපනයන සම්බන්ධයෙන් ගත් කල, “ශ්රී ලංකාව ඉන්දියානු උප මහාද්වීපයට පමණක් නොව, යුරෝපීය සංගමයේ ධනවත් පාරිභෝගිකයින් සඳහා ද ද්වාරයක් ලෙස පවතී. අනුග්රහ පූර්වක පදනමක් මත ශ්රී ලංකාවේ සිට ක්රියාත්මක විය හැකි ඉන්දියානු ආයෝජකයින් සඳහා මෙන්ම, ඉන්දියාවේ විශාල වෙළඳපොළට මෙන්ම යුරෝපා සංගමය වෙත ද පිවිසීම සඳහා නව අවස්ථා ද මෙමඟින් පැහැදිලිවම විවෘත කරනු ඇත.” යයි ඔහු තවදුරටත් පැවසීය.
ශ්රී ලංකාවේ ඉන්දියානු මහ කොමසාරිස් ගෝපාල් බග්ලේ මැතිතුමා කියා සිටියේ අනාගතයට නැඹුරු ප්රතිපත්ති සහ දෙරටේ අනුපූරක ආර්ථික ශක්තීන් කාර්යක්ෂමව උපයෝගී කර ගනිමින්, ආර්ථික සුරක්ෂිතතාවයේ අවශ්යතාවය සමතුලිත කිරීමට වර්තමානයේ පියවර ගැනීම කළ යුතු බවයි. ඉන්දියාව ආත්මනිභාර් භාරත් (ස්වයං විශ්වාසය) දෙසට ගමන් කරන විට ගෝලීය සැපයුම හා වටිනාකම් දාමයන් සමඟ එය ඒකාබද්ධ වීම, ශ්රී ලංකාව වැනි අපගේ සමීප හවුල්කරුවන්ට අමතර අවස්ථාවක් වනු ඇත. මෙය අපගේ වාණිජ ආයතන සමඟ වඩා දිගුකාලීන සබඳතා ගොඩනඟා ගැනීමට සහ හැකියාවන් වැඩි දියුණු කිරීමට, රැකියා ප්රවර්ධනය කිරීමට සහ සමෘද්ධිය වැඩි කිරීමට ඉවහල් වනු ඇත.
සෞඛ්ය හා ඖෂධ යනු ඉන්දියාව සහ ශ්රී ලංකාව අතර සහයෝගීතාවයේ වැඩිදියුණු කළ හැකි අංශ බව ඉන්දියානු වාණිජ හා කර්මාන්ත සම්මේලනයේ සභාපතිනි ආචාර්ය සංගීතා රෙඩ්ඩි මහත්මිය පැවසුවාය. සංචාරක හා ආගන්තුක සත්කාර වැනි වෙනත් අවධානය යොමු වූ අංශ අන්යෝන්ය වශයෙන් උනන්දුවක් දක්වන අංශ වේ. ගෝලීය වසංගතයේ ප්රතිඵලයක් ලෙස මෙම අංශ දෙක ද දරුණු ලෙස බලපෑමට ලක්ව ඇති අතර, ඒවා පුනර්ජීවනය කිරීමේ ක්රම පිළිබඳව අප සාකච්ඡා කළ යුතුව ඇත. ව්යාපාර හා ආයෝජන සඳහා අවස්ථා ගවේෂණය කිරීම පිණිස ඉන්දියානු-ශ්රී ලංකා ප්රධාන විධායක සංසදය යථා තත්වයට පත් කරන ලෙස ඇය රජයන් දෙකෙන්ම ඉල්ලා සිටියාය.
ඉන්දියානු වාණිජ හා කර්මාන්ත සම්මේලනයේ දකුණු ආසියානු කලාපීය කවුන්සිලයේ සභාපති, සමූහයේ මහජන කටයුතු පිළිබඳ සභාපති සහ මහින්ද්රා සහ මහින්ද්රා ලිමිටඩ් හි සමූහයේ විධායක මණ්ඩල සාමාජික මනෝජ් චුග් මහතා පැවසුවේ තවමත් උපයෝගී කර ගෙන නොමැති නව ක්ෂේත්ර පවතින බවත්, ඉන්දීය සහ ශ්රී ලංකා සමාගම් ඒවා උපයෝගී කර ගැනීම සඳහා සන්ධාන ඇති කරගත යුතු බවත්ය.
අශෝක් ලේලන්ඩ් සමාගමේ ප්රධාන මෙහෙයුම් නිලධාරී නිතින් සෙත්; ඉන්දියානු වාණිජ හා කර්මාන්ත සම්මේලනයේ දකුණු ආසියානු කලාපීය කවුන්සිලයේ සම සභාපති, දකුණු ආසියානු කලාපීය කවුන්සිලයේ සහ සීමාසහිත සීඑන්එච් (CNH) කාර්මික (ඉන්දියා) පුද්ගලික සමාගමේ ජාත්යන්තර ව්යාපාර අධ්යක්ෂ අශෝක් අනන්තරාමන්; ශ්රී ලංකා ආයෝජන මණ්ඩලයේ ආයෝජන ප්රවර්ධන විධායක අධ්යක්ෂ ප්රසංජිත් විජයතිලක; ශ්රී ලංකා සංචාරක සංවර්ධන අධිකාරියේ සංචාරක සැලසුම්, සංවර්ධන හා ආයෝජක සබඳතා අධ්යක්ෂ ආචාර්ය ප්රසාද් ජයසූරිය සහ ශ්රී ලංකා නැනෝ තාක්ෂණික ආයතනයේ ව්යාපාර සංවර්ධන අංශ ප්රධානී ආචාර්ය ලක්ෂිත පහලගෙදර යන මහත්ම මහත්මීහු ද ඉන්දියාව සහ ශ්රී ලංකාවේ ආර්ථික සම්බන්ධතාවය ශක්තිමත් කිරීම පිළිබඳ සිය ඉදිරි දර්ශනය බෙදා හදා ගත්හ.
ලක්ෂ්මන් කදිර්ගාමර් ආයතනයේ අධ්යක්ෂ මණ්ඩල සාමාජික සුගන්තී කදිර්ගාමර් මැතිණිය, ආර්ථික කටයුතු පිළිබඳ අතිරේක ලේකම් පී. අම්සා මහතා, විදේශ සබඳතා අමාත්යාංශයේ දකුණු ආසියා හා සාර්ක් අංශයේ අධ්යක්ෂ ජනරාල් අරුණි රණරාජා මහත්මිය සහ ඉන්දියාවේ වැඩබලන ශ්රී ලංකා මහ කොමසාරිස් නිලූක කදුරුගමුව මහතා ද මෙම වෙබ්නාර් සාකච්ඡාවට එක් වූහ.
විදේශ සබඳතා අමාත්යාංශය
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2020 ජූලි 22 වැනි දින
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ஊடக வெளியீடு
தாராளமய சுற்றுச்சூழல் அமைப்பை எளிதாக்குதல், பாதுகாத்தல் மற்றும் மேம்படுத்துதல் ஆகியவற்றிலான இலங்கை அரசாங்கத்தின் உறுதிப்பாட்டை சாதகமாக பயன்படுத்திக் கொள்ளுமாறு இந்திய முதலீட்டாளர்களிடம் வெளிவிவகார செயலாளர் ஆரியசிங்க கேட்டுக்கொண்டார்
இந்திய முதலீட்டாளர்கள் இலங்கையில் முதலீடு செய்வதற்கான சூழலானது, அதன் நிலையான தலைமைத்துவத்தின் காரணமாக மட்டுமல்லாமல், இலங்கைக்கும் இந்தியாவுக்குமிடையிலான வலுவான இருதரப்பு உறவின் காரணமாகவும் உகந்ததாக விளங்குவதாக வெளிவிவகார செயலாளர் ரவிநாத ஆரியசிங்க தெரிவித்தார். ஒத்துழைப்புக்கான பகுதிகள் முழுமையாக மதிப்பாய்வு செய்யப்பட்ட ஜனாதிபதி, பிரதமர் மற்றும் வெளிநாட்டு உறவுகள் அமைச்சர் ஆகியோரின் இந்தியாவுக்கான ஆரம்ப விஜயங்களைத் தொடர்ந்து இது ஒருங்கிணைக்கப்பட்டது.
இலங்கையின் லக்ஷ்மன் கதிர்காமர் சர்வதேச வர்த்தக மற்றும் மூலோபாய ஆய்வுகள் நிறுவகத்துடன் இணைந்து 2020 ஜூலை 21 ஆந் திகதி இந்திய வர்த்தக மற்றும் தொழில்துறைக் கூட்டமைப்பு ஏற்பாடு செய்த 'இந்தியாவுக்கும் இலங்கைக்குமிடையிலான பொருளாதார ஒத்துழைப்பை ஆழப்படுத்துதல்' என்ற வெபினாரில் உரையாற்றிய வெளிவிவகார செயலாளர் ஆரியசிங்க, 'இலங்கையில் முதல் 5 வெளிநாட்டு முதலீட்டாளர்களில் இந்தியாவும் உள்ளது. நவீன வணிகத் தேவைகளுக்கு ஏற்ப அமைப்புக்களையும் நடைமுறைகளையும் தொடர்ந்தும் மாற்றியமைப்பதன் மூலம் இலங்கையில் தாராளமய முதலீட்டுச் சூழலை எளிதாக்குவதற்கும், பாதுகாப்பதற்கும், ஊக்குவிப்பதற்கும் அரசாங்கம் உறுதிபூண்டுள்ளது. வருங்கால முதலீட்டாளர்கள் இந்த முதலீட்டு வாய்ப்புக்களை இலங்கையில் பயன்படுத்திக்கொள்ள ஊக்குவிக்கப்படுகின்றார்கள்' எனத் தெரிவித்தார்.
இலங்கையில் முதலீடு செய்யக்கூடிய சாத்தியமான பகுதிகளை எடுத்துரைத்த அவர், உயர்வான மதிப்பு மிகுந்த உற்பத்திகளில் அதிகமான முதலீட்டை பெற்றுக்கொள்வதனை அரசாங்கம் இலக்காகக் கொண்டுள்ளது எனக் குறிப்பிட்டார். 'ஆடை, தகவல் தொழில்நுட்பம், விவசாய வர்த்தகம் போன்ற துறைகளில் இந்தியா வலுவாக உள்ளதுடன், எமது இரு நாடுகளின் தனியார் துறையும் இந்தத் துறைகளில் முதலீடுகளை மேற்கொள்ளுதல், தொழில்நுட்பப் பரிமாற்றம் போன்றன தொடர்பான ஒத்துழைப்பை ஆராய முடியும்' என வெளிவிவகார செயலாளர் மேலும் தெரிவித்தார்.
'உற்பத்தித் துறையில் பெரும் ஆற்றலை வழங்கக்கூடிய பகுதிகளான தொழில்துறை வலயங்கள், வாகன உதிரிப்பாகங்கள், மருந்துப் பொருட்கள், ஆடைகள் மற்றும் பொறியியல் ஆகியவற்றை வளர்ப்பதில் இந்திய வர்த்தகங்களை நாங்கள் வரவேற்கின்றோம். தற்போதைய உட்கட்டமைப்பு மேம்பாட்டுத் திட்டங்கள் மற்றும் வீதிகள், துறைமுகங்கள், விமான நிலையங்களின் அபிவிருத்தி ஆகியவை வர்த்தகத் துறைக்கான இணைப்புக்களை இணைக்க உதவுகின்றன' என அவர் தெரிவித்தார்.
'இலங்கை ஒரு சுற்றுலாத் தலமாக மிகப்பெரிய ஆற்றலைக் கொண்டுள்ளதுடன், இந்தியர்கள் சுமார் 20% சுற்றுலா விஜயங்களை எமது நாட்டிற்கு மேற்கொள்கின்றனர். இலங்கை சுற்றுலாவின் தரத்தை உயர்த்துவதற்கு பங்களிப்புச் செய்த தாஜ் மற்றும் ஐ.டி.சி. குழுமங்கள் விருந்தோம்பல் துறையில் ஈட்டிய இலாபகரமான முதலீட்டு அடிச்சுவடுகளைப் பின்பற்றி, இந்தத் துறையிலும் முதலீட்டு வாய்ப்புக்கள் கணிசமாக இருக்கும்' என செயலாளர் குறிப்பிட்டார்.
அரசாங்கத்தால் மேற்கொள்ளப்பட்ட கொள்கை சீர்திருத்தங்களுக்கு முக்கியத்துவம் அளித்த அவர், 'முதலீட்டுக் காலநிலையை வலுப்படுத்த நாங்கள் பல நடவடிக்கைகளை முன்னெடுத்து வருவதுடன், நவீன கால தேவைகளுக்கு ஏற்ப முதலீட்டு சட்டங்கள் மதிப்பாய்வு செய்யப்படுகின்றன. எமது அரசாங்கத்தின் அனைத்து முயற்சிகளும், மாற்றமடையும் மற்றும் முன்னோக்கிப் பார்க்கும் தனியார் துறையால் இயக்கப்படும் வெளிநாட்டு மற்றும் உள்நாட்டு தனியார் முதலீடுகளை அடிப்படையாகக் கொண்ட ஒரு பொருளாதாரத்தை உருவாக்குவதே ஆகும்' எனத் தெரிவித்தார்.
இரு நாடுகளுக்குமிடையிலான இருதரப்பு வர்த்தகத்தை விரிவாக எடுத்துரைத்த வெளிவிவகார செயலாளர் ஆரியசிங்க, 'மொத்த இலங்கை இறக்குமதியில் இந்தியா 20 சதவீதத்தை கொண்டுள்ளதுடன், இது இலங்கையின் மூன்றாவது பெரிய ஏற்றுமதித் தலமாகும்' என்றார். இலங்கை ஏற்றுமதிகள் குறித்து கருத்துத் தெரிவித்த அவர், பெற்றுக் கொள்ளும் நாடுகளிலுள்ள கட்டணமில்லாத தடைகள் காரணமாக பெரும்பாலும் சந்தை அணுகலிலுள்ள சிக்கல்கள் எமது விவசாயிகளுக்கு ஒரு தடையாக மாறியுள்ளது. இலங்கை சுவையூட்டிப் பொருட்களின் ஏற்றுமதியை அதிகரிக்க உதவுவதற்கும், இந்திய சந்தையில் மிளகு உள்ளிட்ட பொருட்களைக் குவிப்பதற்கும் புது டில்லியிலுள்ள இலங்கை உயர்ஸ்தானிகராலயத்துடன் ஒத்துழைக்குமாறு இந்திய வர்த்தக மற்றும் தொழில்துறைக் கூட்டமைப்பை அவர் கேட்டுக்கொண்டார்.
ஏற்றுமதியைப் பொறுத்தவரை, 'இந்திய துணைக் கண்டத்திற்கு மட்டுமல்லாது, ஐரோப்பிய ஒன்றியத்திலுள்ள நுகர்வோருக்கும் வசதியானதொரு நுழைவாயிலாக இலங்கை செயற்படுகின்றது. இது இலங்கையிலிருந்து முன்னுரிமை அடிப்படையில் செயற்பட்டு, இந்தியாவின் பெரிய சந்தையையும் ஐரோப்பிய ஒன்றியத்தையும் அணுகக்கூடிய இந்திய முதலீட்டாளர்களுக்கு புதிய வாய்ப்புக்களைத் தெளிவாகத் திறக்கும்'.
எதிர்காலத்தை நோக்கிய கொள்கைகள் மற்றும் இரு நாடுகளின் பொருளாதார பலங்களை திறம்பட பயன்படுத்துவதன் மூலம் பொருளாதாரப் பாதுகாப்பின் தேவையை சமநிலைப்படுத்தும் கொள்கைகள் தற்போதைய நேரத்தின் தேவையாகவுள்ளதாக இலங்கைக்கான இந்திய உயர் ஸ்தானிகர் கோபால் பாக்லே தெரிவித்தார். 'ஆத்மநிர்பார் பாரத்தை (தன்னம்பிக்கை) நோக்கி நகரும்போது, உலகளாவிய விநியோகம் மற்றும் மதிப்புச் சங்கிலிகளுடனான இந்தியாவின் ஒருங்கிணைப்பு இலங்கை போன்ற எமது நெருங்கிய பங்காளிகளுக்கு அதிகமான வாய்ப்பாக அமையும். இது எமது வணிக நிறுவனங்களுடன் நீண்டகால உறவுகளை உருவாக்குவதோடு, திறன்களை மேம்படுத்தி, வேலைவாய்ப்பை ஊக்குவித்து, செழிப்பை அதிகரிக்கச் செய்யும்.
சுகாதாரம் மற்றும் மருந்துகள் ஆகியன இந்தியாவிற்கும் இலங்கைக்குமிடையிலான ஒத்துழைப்பின் சாத்தியமான துறைகளாகும் என இந்திய வர்த்தக மற்றும் தொழில்துறைக் கூட்டமைப்பின் தலைவர் கலாநிதி. சங்கீதா ரெட்டி தெரிவித்தார். சுற்றுலா மற்றும் விருந்தோம்பல் போன்ற கவனம் செலுத்தத்தக்க ஏனைய துறைகள் பரஸ்பர ஆர்வத்தின் வலுவான பகுதிகளாக இருந்தன. இந்த இரண்டு துறைகளும் தொற்றுநோயின் விளைவாக மிகவும் மோசமாக பாதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளதுடன், அவை மேலும் புத்துயிர் பெறுவதற்கான வழிகளை நாம் விவாதிக்க வேண்டும். வர்த்தகம் மற்றும் முதலீட்டிலுள்ள வாய்ப்புக்களை ஆராய்வதற்காக இந்தியா - இலங்கை தலைமை நிறைவேற்று அதிகாரி மன்றத்தை புதுப்பிக்குமாறு இரண்டு அரசாங்கங்களையும் அவர் கேட்டுக்கொண்டார்.
புதிய துறைகள் இன்னும் ஊக்கப்படுத்தப்படவில்லை என்றும், இந்திய மற்றும் இலங்கை நிறுவனங்கள் அவற்றை ஊக்கப்படுத்துவதற்கான கூட்டணிகளை உருவாக்க வேண்டும் என்றும் இந்திய வர்த்தக மற்றும் தொழில்துறைக் கூட்டமைப்பின் தெற்காசியப் பிராந்திய சபையின் தலைவரும், பொதுக் குழு விவகாரங்களின் தவிசாளரும், மஹிந்திரா அன்ட் மஹிந்திரா லிமிடெட் நிறுவனத்தின் நிர்வாகக்குழுச் சபையின் உறுப்பினருமான மனோஜ் சுக் தெரிவித்தார்.
அசோக் லேலண்ட் நிறுவனத்தின் தலைமை இயக்க அதிகாரி நித்தின் சேத், இந்திய வர்த்தக மற்றும் தொழில்துறைக் கூட்டமைப்பின் தெற்காசியப் பிராந்திய சபையின் இணைத் தலைவரும், இன்டர்நெஷனல் பிஸ்னஸ் சி.என்.எச். இன்டஸ்ட்ரியல் (இந்தியா) பிரைவேட் லிமிடெட் நிறுவனத்தின் பணிப்பாளருமான அசோக் ஆனந்தராமன், இலங்கை முதலீட்டு சபையின் முதலீட்டு ஊக்குவிப்பு நிறைவேற்றுப் பணிப்பாளர் பிரசஞ்சித் விஜயதிலக்க, இலங்கை சுற்றுலா அபிவிருத்தி அதிகாரசபையின் சுற்றுலாத் திட்டமிடல், அபிவிருத்தி மற்றும் முதலீட்டாளர் உறவுகள் பணிப்பாளர் கலாநிதி. பிரசாத் ஜயசூரிய மற்றும் இலங்கை நனோ தொழில்நுட்ப நிறுவனத்தின் வர்த்தக அபிவிருத்தித் தலைவர் கலாநிதி. லக்ஷித்த பஹலகெதர ஆகியோர் தமது முன்னோக்குகளைப் பகிர்ந்து கொண்டனர்.
லக்ஷ்மன் கதிர்கமர் நிறுவகத்தின் சபை உறுப்பினர் சுகந்தி கதிர்காமர், பொருளாதார விவகார மேலதிக செயலாளர் பி. அம்ஸா, வெளிநாட்டு உறவுகள் அமைச்சின் தெற்காசியா மற்றும் சார்க் பிரிவின் பணிப்பாளர் நாயகம் அருணி ரணராஜ மற்றும் இந்தியாவுக்கான இலங்கையின் பதில் உயர் ஸ்தானிகர் நிலூக கதுருகமுவ ஆகியோரும் இந்த வெபினரின் போது கலந்து கொண்டனர்.
வெளிநாட்டு உறவுகள் அமைச்சு
கொழும்பு
22 ஜூலை 2020
