Interesting Business Opportunities for Swedish Companies in Sri Lanka - A Seminar Organized by the Swedish Trade Council

16th February 2012, www.asiantribune.com

Ambassador Oshadhi Alahapperuma, head of Sri Lanka Mission in Sweden was one of the speakers at the breakfast seminar on ‘Interesting business opportunities for Swedish companies in Sri Lanka’. The seminar was organized by the Swedish Trade Council and was held at the World Trade Centre in Stockholm on 09th February.

The Swedish Trade Council (STC) was founded exactly 40 years ago and is jointly owned by the Swedish state and the business sector. The aim of its activities is to facilitate and encourage the establishment and growth of Swedish companies abroad. Later this year, an STC trade delegation is bound for Sri Lanka.

In order to draw particular attention to the opportunities of the Paradise Island in the Indian Ocean, among the invitees to this seminar were the Swedish Ambassador to India, Mr. Lars-Olof Lindgren and STC representative and Trade Commissioner to India, Mr. Anders Malmström.

There are STC offices in more than 50 countries around the globe.. This specific Sri Lanka focus constitutes a great encouragement and serves as a valuable indicator of how well the successful development and rebuilding of Sri Lanka is perceived in the Nordic region. Just under 50 representatives from various businesses sectors attended the event with the hopes of gaining more insight about interesting business opportunities in Sri Lanka.

In his introduction, the Ambassador to India Mr. Lars-Olof Lindgren highlighted that with its ever-growing economy Sri Lanka has a business climate which compared to for example the Indian one, is significantly uncomplicated and welcoming for foreign actors. He pointed out that it is of great importance for Sweden to invest in economies such as Sri Lanka’s.

The Ambassador to Sweden Oshadhi Alahapperuma later added to this in his presentation by emphasizing what a safe and solid destination Sri Lanka is for both investment and travel.

Mr. Anders Malmström, Commissioner of the STC in turn described the current position of trade between Sweden and Sri Lanka, highlighted the prominent features of the Sri Lankan economy and gave his view on which emerging sectors in Sri Lanka might be of particular interest for the Swedish investors.

The Sri Lanka Embassy in Sweden took this unique opportunity to promote the Sri Lanka Expo 2012 and the Third Secretary (Commercial) Mr. Geshan Dissanayake advertised the March exhibition through a presentation and handed out brochures among the participants.

In May, the Swedish Trade Council in collaboration with the Swedish Embassy in India is planning to bring a trade delegation to Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka Embassy will also be of assistance in this endeavor. By the looks of it, Sri Lanka is shaping up to be a more attractive investment destination by the minute and in the eyes of Sweden one of the hottest destinations in 2012.