UAE Foreign Trade Minister to Visit Sri Lanka with a High Powered Business Delegation

11th January 2011, www.sundaytimes.lk, By Bandula Sirimanna

In a bid to explore investment opportunities in Sri Lanka, Foreign Trade Minister of United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al Qasimi will be visiting Sri Lanka along with a high powered business delegation in the next two months.

Tourism, health and education sectors have lot of potential and these sectors could be promoted with UAE investment, a senior official of the Ministry of Trade in UAE, Dawood Al Shezawi told the Business Times on the sidelines of a seminar on investment promotion between Sri Lanka and the UAE, in Colombo this week.

He added that the UAE can assist Sri Lanka in attracting high spending UAE travellers specially families including children to the island.

Mr Al-Shezawi expressed his willingness to assist Sri Lanka to hold an international investment meeting, accepting a proposal made by Tissa Jayaweera, President of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka who said that Sri Lanka has the potential and resources to attract more foreign investment by hosting high level investment meetings. Data from Sri Lanka's Board of Investment shows direct investment from UAE-based firms exceeded US$ 100 million in the recent times creating employment opportunities for around 90,000 Sri Lankans.

Two UAE's Ministry of Trade officials - Mr Al Shezawi and Emaad Ishaq - who attended the seminar as special guests during their 24-hour trip to Sri Lanka extended an invitation on behalf of the UAE Government to the local business community to attend an annual investment meeting in Dubai from May 10 to 12.