The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Viet Nam, in coordination with the Industrial Development Board (IDB), organized a “Sri Lankan Fair” to promote the products of SME entrepreneurs of Sri Lanka to the vast middle-income market of Viet Nam. The two-day Sri Lankan Fair was attended by a large number of Vietnamese nationals, foreign nationals based in Ha Noi, senior government and corporate personalities, media and the diplomatic corps amongst others.
The Sri Lankan Fair was held at the Chancery of the Embassy of Sri Lanka. It consisted nearly 10 SME companies ranging from wooden and ornamental products, traditional Sri Lankan masks and paintings, batik and handmade garments, decorative household items, hand-made silver jewelry and gemstones, soft toys, exclusive wooden carvings, herbal tea and spices and brassware, amongst others. The two-day event was enriched by serving and selling authentic Sri Lankan food, which were prepared at the premises itself as well as serving traditional hallmark Ceylon tea by the Dilma based in Ha Noi.
Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Viet Nam Prof A. Saj U. Mendis, in his opening remarks stated that the SMEs are often considered as a backbone of any given economy. He further added that these sentiments were true in the context of Sri Lanka as well. Prof Mendis further stated that SME sector contributes approximately 50% of the GDP and employs over 60% of the working population.
He added that the primary economic pivot of any given nation was to intensely focus on facilitating the SMEs, thus enabling them to advance to become mid-sized companies to large companies. Ambassador Mendis added that today some of the largest corporates of the world had most humbling beginnings often in college dorms and garages.
The Director of Department of Industry and Trade also addressed the opening ceremony and stated that the Department in Viet Nam would support the SME entrepreneurs of Sri Lanka as well as expressed optimistic and encouraging sentiments.
Over 15 Sri Lankan SME entrepreneurs who visited Ha Noi was arranged to visit and interact with Bat Trang ceramic pottery village, wood craft village and Viet Nam Association of Gemstones in order to forge long-term business and commercial relations, thus enabling to export the Sri Lankan products to Viet Nam. Further, the Embassy organized a number of B2B meetings for the Sri Lankan entrepreneurs/SMEs to promote their respective commercial entities.
Most of the SME entrepreneurs of Sri Lanka initiated and reached upon commercial arrangements with Vietnamese counterpart companies. This particular commercial initiative did enhance the profile and image of the country amongst the Vietnamese and other foreign nationals in Ha Noi.
Minister Commercial of the Embassy Kishani Wickramasinghe played a pivotal role in organizing the entire Sri Lankan Fair with great success.
The Embassy of Sri Lanka
Ha Noi
13 November 2023
