The State Minister of Industry & Commerce, Resettlement of Protracted Displaced persons, Co- Operative Development and Vocational Training & Skills Development, Buddhika Pathirana, during his brief stay in Istanbul, attended the World Food Istanbul 2019 Fair which commenced on 04 September 2019 at TUYAP Fair and Congress Centre, Istanbul.
The Minister visited Sri Lanka stand organized by the Embassy of Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka Tea Board, and met with the representatives of Sri Lankan companies which participated at the Fair, namely M/S Stassen (Pvt) Ltd, M/S Green Horizon (Pvt) Ltd, M/S Anverally & Sons (Pvt) Ltd, MJF Group along with the Sri Lanka Tea Board.
Earlier in the day, Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Turkey, M. Rizvi Hassen along with the Director (Promotion) for Middle East and North African Region of Sri Lanka Tea Board in Dubai, Premala Srikantha and Counsellor (Commercial), Yoshitha Jayasuriya inaugurated Sri Lanka pavilion.
The World Food Istanbul Fair is regarded as the most effective and efficient meeting point for retail chains, wholesale businesses, food production companies. This year 500 exhibitors from 45 countries participated in the Fair.
During his visit to Istanbul, Ambassador M. Rizvi Hassen paid a courtesy call to President of the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEİK), Nail Olpak along with the Counsellor (Commercial), Yoshitha Jayasuriya and Chairman of DEIK/Turkey-Sri Lanka Business Council, Besir Ugur at the DEIK Head Office.
The Ambassador also met with the representatives of the senior officials of Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, Istanbul Chamber of Industry and Association of Turkish Travel Agency (TURSAB). Chairman of DEIK/Turkey-Sri Lanka Business Council Besir Ugur mentioned that he would attend the business conclave organized by Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in Colombo.
The Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEİK) was established in 1965 to organize and manage the foreign economic relations of the Turkish private sector, in particular with respect to foreign trade, international investments, services, contracting and logistics; to analyse investment opportunities at home and abroad. All bilateral business councils established in Turkey have been registered with the DEIK and considered as the focal point of the business networking in Turkey.
