On the 05 of November 2019 Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Viet Nam Prasanna Gamage met with Secretary General of Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Nguyen Quang Vinh at its Headquarters in Ha Noi. The VVCI represents over 1400 leading businesses in Viet Nam, located both in metropolitan and regional precincts.
The Secretary General of VCCI wished the Ambassador a successful tenure in Viet Nam and illustrated the structure and activities of the VCCI. Mr. Vinh recalled his productive visit to Sri Lanka in 2013 and said that he clearly understands the trade and investment potential of the two countries.
The Secretary General emphasized the fact that both Sri Lanka and Viet Nam have mostly medium and small-scale business enterprises, and it is important to liaise with these entities to enhance trade cooperation between the two countries. He stated that VCCI has already signed an MoU with National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) in 2011, and it should be fully implemented. He further stated that even if the two countries have close ties in diplomatic relations, there is a dire need to energize business communities of both countries to work closely with each other. In order to create that mutual understanding between Sri Lanka and Viet Nam, the Secretary General suggested organizing a business forum either in Ha Noi or Colombo, in line with the commemoration of the 50 years of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2020. The Secretary General of VCCI assured the fullest cooperation of his institution in furthering trade and investment between the two countries, and the extension of his personal attention in this regard, being a true friend of Sri Lanka.
Welcoming the productive ideas of the Secretary General of VCCI, Ambassador Gamage agreed with the proposal to organize a Business Forum next year, with the support of other line agencies in Sri Lanka such as the Department of Commerce, Sri Lanka Export Development Board, Board of Investment of Sri Lanka etc. Referring to the conclusions arrived at the recently held Second Sub Committee Meeting on Trade between Sri Lanka and Viet Nam, in which representatives of the VCCI also participated, Ambassador Gamage recalled the proposed visit of a Viet Nam business delegation to Sri Lanka next year, comprising manufacturers in electrical and electronics sector. The Ambassador requested that Mr. Vinh, Secretary General lead this delegation to Sri Lanka. Ambassador Gamage further elaborated on the strengths of Sri Lanka in terms of Information Technology, Chartered Accountancy and Banking sectors, and the willingness of Sri Lanka to cooperate with Viet Nam in these sectors as well. Ambassador Gamage well-wished Viet Nam for a successful tenure as the chair of ASEAN in 2020, and he expressed his sincere hope that ASEAN and other partners will be able to conclude the agreement on Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) under the chairmanship of Viet Nam. The Ambassador also emphasized that the two countries should focus on reaching the initial annual trade target of one billion USD, which would pave the way for subsequent enhancements of investment tourism, cooperation in the ICT and banking sectors.
During the meeting, Ambassador Gamage was assisted by Third Secretary (Commercial) of the Mission Prasadi Boomalwage and the Secretary General Vinh was assisted by Director General Nguyen Van Hai and Senior Expert of the International Department of the VCCI Dang Thi Lien.
