The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Tokyo in collaboration with a Sri Lankan entrepreneur in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka for over four decades Lalaka Silva, President of Ernest Trading Ltd, and the Hamamatsu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI) organized a seminar on “Sri Lanka’s Reformist Journey to Greater Economic Development” on 24 February 2023 at the HCCI with the objective of educating Japanese enterprises on the current status of the economy, future plans, and prospects for business collaboration in Sri Lanka.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador E. Rodney M. Perera deeply appreciated the support of Japan for continuing to extend support to Sri Lanka at all international economic for a and also for using many funding tools at the disposal of Japanese agencies for Sri Lanka bilaterally to resurrect Sri Lanka’s economy. He informed the audience that the policy of the Sri Lankan Government is based on reconciliation, development, and culture and that Sri Lanka would like to continue expanding the strong bilateral economic ties that had been established decades ago with Japan and would be very pleased to have more people to people contacts and private sector cooperation in this regard.
Delivering the keynote address through a video link Governor of Central Bank Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe briefed the audience on the current economic situation and the measures taken by the authorities to stabilize the economy. He stated that there will be many opportunities, especially from next year, with the implementation of all important structural reforms to enhance the country’s capacity to grow and make it easier for doing business. The Governor also emphasised that the time is opportune for potential investors to actively consider Sri Lanka as a business destination. He highlighted that, moving forward, high returns can be envisaged with the economic recovery in areas such as the tourism sector, logistics, port-related services, IT and BPO services, stock market and renewable energy sector etc
Having invested in Sri Lanka in successful ventures, Managing Director of Metatechno Lanka Pvt Ltd Naoshi Yamada and Chairman of Expo Lanka Pvt Ltd Hitoshi Kanahori, shared their positive experiences in doing business in Sri Lanka, representing the IT and Logistics sectors respectively.
Opening remarks of the seminar were delivered by Chairman of the Hamamatsu Chamber of Commerce & Industry and President of Enshu Railway Co. Ltd Kaoru Saito. Hedrew the attention of the audience to the business opportunities Sri Lanka presents to the local entrepreneurs.
The seminar was attended by over 50 Japanese businesspersons from leading manufacturing, logistics, IT and software, and food production companies in the Hamamatsu area. Representatives of renowned Japanese brand names such Toyota, Yamaha, Suzuki located in the Shizuoka region also participated and took an active interest in the Q & A session following the presentations.
Sri Lanka Embassy
Tokyo
2 March 2023
