Sri Lanka to connect stronger to the West at Expo 2015 in Italy
06 May 2015 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The most celebrated event in the world next to the Olympic Games that happens every five years since the inception in 1931, was launched amidst a distinctive world gathering by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on May 1st at the open air stage at World Expo site in Milano Italy.
This year’s event which is expected to attract over a twenty million people into the beautiful city of Milano will be on show until the 31st of October, under the theme ‘Feed the world given the challenges the world is up against’.
Sri Lanka was represented by the Charge d Affairs for Sri Lanka in Italy Poshitha Perera, The Commissioner General Expo -Sri Lanka Dr. Rohantha Athukorala and the Deputy Commissioner General D.W Jinadasa.
At the Opening of the Sri Lanka Pavilion, The Charge d Affairs for Italy Poshita Perera said it is very timely that Sri Lanka further strengthens partnership with the West given the strong trade and business that takes place between Sri Lanka the western part of the world as per the Government policy.
It must be commended on how the seven key state agencies- Sri Lanka Tourism, EDB, Sri Lanka Tea Board, National Gem and Jewelry Authority, The BOI, SriLankan Airlines and Craft Council are working in unison under the Commissioner General to project brand Sri Lanka. We must now extend this working relationships in the future, so that we can really show the strength of Sri Lanka in Italy and the rest of the world. From Ceylon tea to Ceylon sapphire, From Ceylon cinnamon to the Sri Lanka tourism promise which are all global market champions in their respective businesses which is unique only to Sri Lanka. We must highlight these elements at Expo on a private- public partnership that has been ably planned by the working committee he said.
The Commissioner General Rohantha Athukorala said, “ I must commend the leadership of the Prime Minister for securing this space at gratis from the government of Italy and the two ministers who gave us timely direction namely, the Minister of Tourism Navin Dissanayake and Minister for Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathuideen for helping us stage this event in just 5 weeks with necessary approvals from the cabinet o. Having visited the key competitive country pavilions at Expo 2015, my take is that that it’s time that Sri Lanka focuses from the challenges internally to the macro global trends in the world market and strategize how we can capture them.
Currently Sri Lanka is valued at US$ 61 billion as per Brand Finance( UK) and it is poised to cross a US$ 80 billion plus in the next two years given that the drag on this value in the past was on the pivotal area of ‘Governance’. This has now been corrected post the new government coming to play on the 8th January 2015 voice the experts. Research reveals that countries with strong brand value tends to attract top quality investments, exports become stronger whilst it becomes an attractive tourist destination for top dollar global traveller said Athukorala.
The focus for the the month of May for Sri Lanka at Expo 2015 will be Tourism with the Minister for Tourism and Sports Navin Dissanayake scheduled to visit the event and give leadership with some key strategic partnerships announced.
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