8 October 2022 12:00 am Views - 189
Indian CEO Forum-Sri Lanka (ICF) called on Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the Prime Minister’s Office on October 6, a statement from his office said.
The Prime Minister stressed the need for further growth in bilateral trade and increase Indian investments in new areas, where Indian techno know-how could be introduced.
He thanked the Indian companies for their significant input and support to the Sri Lankan economy by way of bringing substantial investments into the country, export earnings, employment generation, and contribution of treasury through direct and indirect taxes.
The CEO team led by former President, T.S. Prakash, stated that the member companies represent diverse industries from automobile, banking, cement, and FMCG to fuel, glass, hospitality, infrastructure, logistics, packaging, paint, and pharmaceuticals.
Referring to the Prime Minister’s proposal to venture into new areas, he said the ICF has launched ‘Shine Lanka’ platform to promote trade and investments as well as tourism, which has a huge potential.
The Prime Minister briefed the CEO’s about the steps taken by the government to solve the unprecedented economic crisis faced be the country. Airtel’s Ashish Nanda said his company has access to over 65% Indian households through mobile telephones and Sri Lanka could promote tourism in the vast Indian market using IT.
The Indian CEOs expressed appreciation over the initial successes made by Sri Lanka in its plans to recover from the economic crisis and emphasised the need to sustain the efforts. They also called for relaxation of some outdated regulations to enhance growth of trade and attract investments.