At the invitation of the Commonwealth Enterprise & Investment Council (CWEIC), High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in the United Kingdom Rohitha Bogollagama highlighted Sri Lanka’s investment potential at the Trade and Investment Roundtable “Strengthening Commonwealth – Sri Lanka Partnerships,” held on 20 March 2024 at the “Institute of Directors” in London. The Roundtable was an outcome of the recent visit of Chairman of the CWEIC Lord Marland of Odstock to Sri Lanka and his discussions with President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Addressing the gathering, which comprised of the UK corporate leaders including the members and the strategic partners of CWEIC, industry leaders and the London-based trade chamber representatives, High Commissioner Rohitha Bogollagama elaborated on the country’s speedy economic recovery which demonstrated country’s spirit of resilience and the on-going debt-restricting process with the IMF, Paris-Club and the bilateral lenders. High Commissioner Bogollagama also articulated the key aspects of the current conducive investment climate in Sri Lanka bolstered by tax incentives, legislative structure, Rule of Law, absorption of Sri Lankan talent and guaranteed employee welfare, investment facilitation particularly by the BOI- Sri Lanka and the locational and strategic advantage of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean. He further outlined the investment opportunities available in Sri Lanka in the tourism sector, higher education sector including a proposal to set up a digital university in Sri Lanka, Colombo Port City project, IT & AI and other service and manufacturing sectors.
A video message from the State Minister of Investment Promotion Dilum Amunugama was screened at the Roundtable. State Minister Amunugama, in his message, highlighted the positive investment climate in Sri Lanka, facilities offered by the BOI Investor Facilitation Centre (IFC) and the Ready to Invest projects available on BOI website, which the investors are able to operate on Plug and Play mode. Deshan Gonawala of the State Ministry of Investment Promotion made a comprehensive presentation titled “Investing in Sri Lanka.” Group Director, Capital Maharaja Organization Ltd and one of the strategic partners of the CWEIC Niro Cooke also made a detailed presentation.
The participants of the Roundtable, which was moderated by Lord Marland, engaged in an interactive session raising their questions, concerns and the testimonials on their experience in investing in Sri Lanka. Printed handouts containing information on investing in Sri Lanka were also circulated among the participants of the roundtable. The Roundtable, which was followed by a networking reception, served as a significant platform to foster discussions and collaboration opportunities aimed at enhancing trade and investment relations between Sri Lanka and the Commonwealth nations.
