Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the EU Ravinatha Aryasinha has said, Belgians have been "early birds" in seizing on the new economic opportunities opening up in Sri Lanka since the ending of the terrorist conflict in May 2009, a press communiqué from the Sri Lankan Embassy in Brussels said.
"Noting that both Sri Lanka and Belgium, where the SME sector is prominent, presents a better fit to do business, he said this trend has been supported by the Government of Belgium through its positive travel advisories, improved country risk ratings, enhanced export credit facilities and by continuing to be an active partner in Sri Lanka promotional events, the communiqué said.
Ambassador Aryasinha made these observations when he addressed the Cercle de Lorraine-The Brussels Business Club, in Brussels on 9 November 2011.
Observing that attracting Belgian business persons and travellers towards Sri Lanka was a process set in motion well before the ending of the conflict through the January 2009
re-launching of the Belgolux-Sri Lanka Business Council which had laid dormant for over a decade, the Ambassador said undoubtedly its high point was the November 2010 visit to Sri Lanka by a Belgian business delegation comprising over 50 persons from 40 companies, with interests in a wide range of products and services.
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce had noted at the time that it was by far the largest business delegation to visit Sri Lanka from the West since the restoration of peace. He said, the results from that visit have been fast and tangible, with most of those visiting Sri Lanka for the first time signing and operationalizing contracts, while many of the veterans expanding their business ventures.
A reflection of Belgian enthusiasm in doing business in Sri Lanka was also seen in the Belgolux-Sri Lanka Business Council (BLSLBC), being incorporated as a non-profit organization in Belgium in February 2011. In the tourism sector, in the first nine months of 2011, Belgian tourists visiting Sri Lanka showed an impressive growth of 114.5%, compared to a Western European average increase of 25.3%.
The Ambassador said this momentum generated will soon be enhanced, when a high powered business delegation led by the Minister of Industry & Commerce of Sri Lanka, Rishad Bathiudeen, visits Belgium from 16th -17th November 2011, to seek business opportunities for Sri Lankan industries and services, and to promote Belgian participation in Sri Lanka’s premier trade exhibition "Sri Lanka Expo 2012" scheduled to take place in Colombo from 28th -30th March 2012.
Over 60 potential Belgian buyers, joint venture partners and investors have already confirmed their participation at the Business to Business (B2B) meetings that are to be held during the visit. This visit will be followed by a delegation from the European Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (ECCSL - EBO Sri Lanka) - the sole business support organization promoting Europe wide trade and investment interests in Sri Lanka, who will be visiting Brussels from 23rd -25th November 2011.
In addition to availing themselves of B2B opportunities, they will also be meeting with point persons in the European Parliament, European Commission, as well as representatives of the Belgian trade chambers, in seeking to leverage the policy of these bodies in a manner that serves the interests of Sri Lanka
Ambassador Aryasinha noted that through these interactions Sri Lanka not only seeks to expand the quantum of trade between the two countries, but also to diversify the export basket from Sri Lanka. Conscious that Belgium is also a logistics hub that caters to 60% of the European market, Sri Lanka was also keen to encourage the use of Belgium as a base for Sri Lankan companies to expand into the rest of Europe.
As for direct capital investment, he said, with several Belgian leading companies like Besix, CFE, Bam Balteau and Dredging International establishing themselves in Sri Lanka in infrastructure development projects, Sri Lanka hoped that other Belgian companies will follow in their footsteps. He noted that the expanding growth opportunities in Sri Lanka, compared with the current economic situation in the Euro Zone, should provide the impetus for forward-looking companies to add or to increase their exposure to Sri Lanka.
In the sphere of tourism, it was observed that Belgians are not only going in increased numbers and staying in Sri Lanka an average of ten days, they are also regarded as high spending tourists. While targeting this up-market segment, Sri Lanka was also planning several new initiatives to be carried out in the coming months, particularly focusing on MICE tourism, the Sri Lankan Embassy in Brussels said.
Tangible results....
"Belgians have been "early birds" in seizing on the new economic opportunities opening up in Sri Lanka since the ending of the terrorist conflict in May 2009. Our quest in this regard started well before the conflict ended. Anticipating the development trajectory that was to follow, in January 2009 we re-launched the Belgolux-Sri Lanka Business Council, which had originated in 1997, but was dormant for over a decade. In April 2009, as I stated then, at a time we "were seeing light at the end of the tunnel", we availed of the opportunity of re-branding ‘Sri Lanka tourism’ to encourage Belgian business persons and travellers to look towards Sri Lanka,"
Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the EU Ravinatha Aryasinha said.
"Shortly after the ending of the conflict, in June 2009 we hosted a BOI Investment Seminar in Brussels to draw attention to the country’s new potential. In July 2010 we hosted a business delegation of the Benelux Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in Brussels. The high point in this process was undoubtedly the November 2010 visit to Sri Lanka by a Belgian business delegation led by the then Belgian Ambassador to Sri Lanka based in New Delhi Jan Deboutte, comprising over 50 persons from 40 companies, with interests in a wide range of products and services.
"The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce has noted that it was by far the largest business delegation to visit Sri Lanka from the West, since the restoration of peace. The Belgian companies that participated who had B2B meetings with over 150 Sri Lankan companies, appreciated the competitive strengths of Sri Lanka - its high environmental and labour standards, superior quality of products, reliability and conducive business environment.
The results from that visit have been fast and tangible;
* BESIX SANOTEC has started a water treatment project in the Monaragla District at a value of Euro 20 million.
* CFE has started a water treatment project at a value of Euro14 million in Balangoda and Kolonna.
* Technirail Transhub has undertaken a railway construction project at a value of Euro 4.8 Million.
* Dredging International is engaged in off shore sand mining projects in Handala, Muthurajawela and Kerawalpitiya at a value of Euro 20 million.
* REDCORP, an IT based BPO company has expanded its services by employing over 180 IT technicians and has also expanded their operations to Kandy.
* PSIMAR, has already started importing Gems from Sri Lanka.
* Alliance International has signed a commercial agreement of 8.9 million EUR to equip public hospitals with semi-industrial laundry machines.
* Copertiz BVBA imports containers of coconut products for about 250,000 US Dollars per year.
* Cezhum bvba which imports Hyson branded Ceylon tea - since February 2011 has started up a new brand T+H, combining organic Ceylon tea + organic functional herbs.
* Mooris Pumps and Irrigation provides water pumps for water treatment projects.
* The Old Lady at the Sea, hotel project, has recorded a 40% increase in bookings in 2011, over 2010.
* Bam Balteau bvba is currently finalizing a water treatment project in Sri Lanka. They have also opened a branch office in Colombo.
* Solar Access/Greenpulse are studying the prospects for the investment of several millions Euro in the setting up of a solar farm in the North or in the East of the country.
"A reflection of this enthusiasm is also seen in the transformation of
the Belgolux-Sri Lanka Business Council (BLSLBC) into a non-profit organization in Belgium in February 2011. The Council is not only fast expanding in terms of membership, they have also entered into a MOU with the Benelux Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in July 2011, which provides the Council added opportunity to leverage in Colombo for the benefit of its membership.
"Belgo-Sri Lanka economic relations was also to receive added fillip through the visit to Belgium and Luxembourg by the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Ajith Nivard Cabraal in March 2011. In interactions with the Belgian Central Bank and the Office National Du Ducroire (ONDD) - the Belgian export credit agency, Governor Cabraal highlighted the need for the ‘country risk rating’ on Sri Lanka to be amended to reflect the improved ground realities in the country, in order to facilitate businesspersons to trade with and invest in
Sri Lanka, without having to be burdened by higher risk premiums in obtaining credit insurance.
"As for the tourism sector, in the first nine months of 2011, Belgian tourists visiting Sri Lanka showed an impressive growth of 114.5%, compared to a Western European average increase of 25.3%. From 2613 in 2009, and 5398 in 2010, the number of Belgian tourists visiting Sri Lanka in the first nine months of 2011 alone was 7200, surpassing the previous highest amount of Belgian tourists who visited Sri Lanka in any given calendar year, which was 6,333 in 2006. This increase can be attributed to aggressive marketing strategies adopted throughout Belgium since the end of the terrorist conflict by different tour agencies in close cooperation with the Sri Lanka Embassy and the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, as well as to the expansion of air connectivity between Belgium and Sri Lanka. In order to cater to the growing demand, Jetair and Thomas Cooke, two of the main tour operators in Belgium operated a direct weekly charter flight to Sri Lanka over the past year. In addition to Sri Lankan Airlines which continues to offer direct flights to Colombo via Paris or Frankfurt with rail connections from Brussels, Qatar Airways, Ithiad Airlines, Royal Jordanian and Jet Airways promote fast connection to Sri Lanka via Doha, Abu Dhabi, Amman and Chennai/Mumbai/New Delhi. This has resulted in Sri Lanka presently being connected with Belgium on all seven days of the week.
"As part of its effort in image promotion, Sri Lanka in recent years has also sought to contribute to the socio-cultural calendar of Brussels. The most prominent occasion in this regard was the performance of renowned Sitar Virtuoso Pradeep Ratnayaka in October 2010 at the Palais des Baux Arts (BOZAR) on the sidelines of ASEM8, where we were privileged to have the President of the European Council Mr. Herman Van Rompuy as our Guest of Honour. Pradeep also performed at the European Parliament at an event organized by ‘the Friends of Sri Lanka’ of the European Parliament. In February 2010 the ‘Channa – Upuli’ dance troupe came to Brussels to perform at the BELASIA tourist promotion and at a ‘Sri Lanka food week’ was also held at the Raddisson Blu Royal Hotel. In December 2010 we hosted "Sri Lanka: Back to Business" at the Brussels Travel Expo, while we have also promoted Sri Lanka at several travel/trade fairs in Brussels, Antwerp, Bruges, Charleroi and most recently at the ‘Salon des Vacances’, Belgium’s largest B2C travel fair held in February 2011. In all these ventures we are fortunate to have had the support of the small but very active Sri Lankan expatriate community in Belgium, who no doubt take great pride in seeing their heritage being showcased to their hosts," the ambassador said.
Source: The Island, November 14, 2011
