Firms from the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh have showed interest in investing in Sri Lanka and called for direct flights between the state capital Bhopal and Colombo, officials said.
Investors were keen on developing medical services and education and investing in telecommunica
tions, renewable energy and re-building infrastructure in the island's north and east after the ethnic war, they said.Madhya Pradesh is a state almost five times larger in area than Sri Lanka with three times the population of the island.
Indian businesses from the state already have connections with the island, exporting mill cloth amounting to 800,000 dollars a year to Sri Lanka.
Apparel is Sri Lanka's main industrial export.
The state also draws tourists from Sri Lanka, especially Buddhist pilgrims visiting holy sites such as Sanchi.
Pratap Verma, Secretary of the Bhopal Federation of Madhya Pradesh Chambers of Commerce & Industry,
has asked Sri Lanka to start flights from Colombo to Bhopal.The call came during a recent visit by Dinesh Gunawardena, Sri Lanka's Minister of Urban Development and Sacred area Development, who addressed potential investors in Mumbai and Bhopal.
Verma said Bhopal will become an international airport by June 2010 and have landing facilities for Boeing 747, Boeing 737-80 and Airbus 320 aircraft.
Sri Lanka can benefit by having daily flights between Bhopal, Colombo and Bangkok to cater to Sri Lankan as well as Thai and Japanese Buddhist pilgrims visiting Sanchi and other Buddhist sites in India.
Sri Lanka is exploring the possibility of a twice-weekly flight at least during the pilgrimage season connecting Colombo, Bhopal and Lumbini, a Buddhist site in Nepal, near the Indian border, officials said.
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