• Says establishment of hub will help local SMEs develop export promotion and establish sustainable trade relations
• SL selected as hub after several fact-finding missions since 2018
• Initial support to be offered in natural ingredients category
• IPD is a “solid and strategic approach” for growth in promoting SL products in EU market, says EDB

By Shabiya Ali Ahlam
The local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will receive fresh impetus to enter the European Union (EU) market, with Sri Lanka being selected as one of the four hubs to launch the Import Promotion Desk (IPD). 
The IPD is a German trade promotion initiative that aims to firm up cooperation with partners in Sri Lanka. It enables SME enterprises from emerging and developing countries to form links with European importers and travel providers. 

As an initiative to boost imports to the EU, the IPD assists importers and travel providers in Europe with their search for international business partners. It also opens up new sources for supply or destinations in the IPD partner countries.

The establishment of a regional office of the IPD in Colombo will pave the way for local entities to develop export promotion services and establish sustainable trade relations. 

Sri Lanka was selected as one of the hubs for the IPD after several fact-finding missions carried out since October 2018.

The other countries the IPD hubs established are Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador and Uzbekistan. 

While the IPD focuses on five key areas: fresh produce, sustainable wood products, cut flowers, sustainable tourism and natural ingredients, in Sri Lanka the effort is kicked off with emphasis on the latter category. The IPD will assist Sri Lanka export natural ingredients for food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics to the EU region.

 The visiting IPD officials in the country said with further research and evaluations, support would be extended to Sri Lanka in the coming years under the remaining four categories as well. 

IPD Hub Sri Lanka Regional Expert Linda Mense shared that the goal of the IPD hub in Sri Lanka is to evaluate the possibility to include more sectors to export to the EU and also expand the institutional network locally amongst associations, organisations and institutions. 

One of the key aims is to also support in establishing the national strategy, such as the ambitious organic agriculture effort taken up by the government recently, said Mense during the launch event held last evening. 
“With the opening of the IPD hub in Sri Lanka, we want to reaffirm our commitment to the amplification of our cooperation. We are convinced that the hub in Colombo will contribute to the intensification of our efforts, which will be beneficial to Sri Lanka,” said IPD Head of Sourcing and Markets Judith Emmerling commenting on the relevance of the IPD for Sri Lanka. 

Reflecting similar sentiments, Export Development Board (EDB) Chairman Suresh De Mel expressed confidence in the initiative strengthening commercial relations between the EU and Sri Lanka but also paving the way to establish “a solid and strategic approach” for growth in promoting Sri Lankan products in the EU market. 
Since 2012, the IPD has been funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). 

The globally active development organisation sequa gGmbH is responsible for setting up and implementing the IPD in close cooperation with the German Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services Association (BGA). 
The IPD is currently active in 14 countries: Egypt, Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Uzbekistan, Ghana, Indonesia, Colombia, Morocco, Nepal, Peru, Tunisia, the Ukraine and Sri Lanka.