A three day Exhibition entitled ‘India Show’ will be held at the BMICH starting tomorrow. India’s Minister of Commerce, Industry and Textiles Anand Sharma is due to arrive in Sri Lanka tonight coinciding with this prestigious Exhibition organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.
‘India Show’ exhibition is supported by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, High Commission of India and India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF). The Indian Minister will be accompanied by a high-powered Indian officials and business delegation.
The Exhibition is being held in Colombo with the objective of promoting two-way flow of goods and services between India and Sri Lanka, providing a platform for Indian companies to showcase their strengths and capabilities, encouraging Indian investment in Sri Lanka as well as to provide opportunities to the Sri Lankan companies to build business partnerships with Indian companies. 105 companies from India are participating in the Exhibition.
Some of the key sectors that will be represented at the exhibition will include infrastructure, power, mineral fuels, oil and products, electrical machinery and parts, food products, agro-processing, mining machinery, railway equipment, rolling stock, paper, paper board and paper pulp, handicrafts, textiles and garments, information and communications technology, and financial services.
Indian Minister Anand Sharma will inaugurate the Exhibition tomorrow morning along with Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa, Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen and Senior Minister of International Monetary Cooperation Dr. Sarath Amunugama.
Trade and industry sources said that the Indian Minister, during his stay in Sri Lanka, is scheduled to have bilateral meetings with a number of Sri Lankan Ministers and high ranking officials.
Officials from the Ministry of Commerce said that Sri Lanka is India’s largest trade partner in SAARC and India in turn is Sri Lanka’s largest trade partner worldwide. Both countries have undertaken investments in each other and Indian companies have established a strong investment footprint in Sri Lanka with cumulative FDI approvals of over $ 700 million since 2003.
Services trade, educational exchanges, infrastructure projects, tourism, and other sectors of economic cooperation too have expanded significantly. A number of developmental partnership projects for rehabilitation, reconstruction and human development undertaken by the Government of India in Sri Lanka have the involvement of Indian companies.
Meanwhile, the inaugural meeting of the ‘India-Sri Lanka CEO Forum’ will also be held in Colombo on 4 August. Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Airtel Ltd., Sunil Bharti Mittal, will lead the Indian delegation for the CEO Forum.
Courtesy: Government Information Department
