Sri Lanka's Apex Organisation for Export Promotion
Despite global and local challenges, Sri Lanka’s merchandised and service exports have risen by 11.4% to $ 8.5 billion in the first half of this year, prompting the Government to attribute it to a series of development efforts and assure further support. Releasing the latest yet provisional data, Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama said yesterday that export sector performance was commendable, though he admitted there is significant scope for higher value. “The 11.4% growth, despite the impact of the October 2018 undemocratic constitutional coup, and the Easter Sunday tragedy, as well as global challenges, is very satisfactory. For the first time, three months of first half of 2019 - January, March and June - have produced over $ 1 billion worth of merchandised exports. We had originally set an ambitious $ 20 billion target for 2019, but we may miss it and end up at around $ 18.5 billion, which will be still higher than the $ 16 billion achieved last year,” Samarawickrama said.
Sri Lanka is now officially an approved participant at the World Expo 2020 Dubai as the Government of Sri Lanka signed the Official Participation Contract with the "Dubai Expo 2020 Bureau” on 08th July 2019. The high level delegation to the UAE for the Contract signing Ceremony was led by Hon. Nalin Bandara, Deputy Minister of Development Strategies & International Trade. Ms. Indira Malwatte, Chairperson & Chief Executive, Sri Lanka Export Development Board as the Commissioner General for Sri Lanka of Expo 2020 Dubai, signed the Official Participation Contract on behalf of Sri Lanka with Mr. Najeeb Mohammed Al-Ali, Executive Director of Dubai Expo 2020 Bureau in the presence of Hon. Nalin Bandara, Deputy Minister of Development Strategy and International Trade.
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) has been conducting the Exporters’ Forum since its inception from late 70s. The EDB has identified the need of a common platform to discuss and resolve the issues faced by the exporter community in Sri Lanka in order to facilitate exporters to overcome constraints arising from policy and operational issues created by various institutes that regulate, operate, and facilitate cross border trade. The EDB as the nation’s prime institute to facilitate export development created this mechanism to enable exporters to submit their issues to the highest levels of state institutions that cannot be reached easily by a trader. The unique feature of the Exporters’ Forum is the participation of the private sector and the public sector to resolve issues, with the political leadership represented by the relevant minister together with direct ministry-level interventions providing solutions to address those issues.
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) is planning to hold the 23rd Presidential Export Awards Ceremony under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena on 19 September at the BMICH
2019-06-05/ http://www.ft.lk/healthcare/%E2%80%9CDrone-delivery-could-transform-healthcare%E2%80%9D/45-679433
While Sri Lanka healthcare is renowned to be one of the best in the region, the recent Easter Sunday attacks highlighted a major gap in need of urgent attention – emergency delivery of lifesaving medicine to people in dire need of help. The unprecedented simultaneous bombings caused a shortage of blood, leaving hospitals scrambling to bring down blood from other areas of the country. While the country had enough blood to meet the emergency demand, it lacked an effective to move it from where it was to where it needed to be.
“Raavana 1”, Sri Lanka’s first satellite, a cube satellite designed and developed by a team of Sri Lankan engineers was successfully carried to International Space Station from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia on February 18, 2019. “Raavana 1” will be deployed to 400km orbit in mid June 2019, and will be in operation from July 2019 onwards after establishing communication links with the ground station at Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies (ACCIMT). This was part of a landmark project of the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies, functions under the purview of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Research. ACCIMT is a key public sector technology institute in Sri Lanka working in this unique field of Space Technology (or Space Engineering).
Transforming Sri Lanka into the hub of the Indian Ocean, with a knowledge-based, highly competitive and social-market economyis the objective of the Vision 2025 policy document of the Government.Making the transistion to anexport, FDI and tourism orientedcountry is the only optionfor Sri Lanka to create better jobs for the youth of our country and to graduate to a higher income economy.
As per the instructions of the Hon. Malik Samarawickrama, Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade, Export Development Board organized a meeting with the key Exporters and Investors on Friday 03rd May 2019 at the 3rd Floor Auditorium to discuss the current situation of the country.
Sri Lanka’s share in the global export market and the contribution of exports to the national GDP has been in decline whereas imports to the country is in the increase. Further exports are dependent on imported inputs therefore, it is noted that the gap between export and import has been continuously increasing.
Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) together with the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) commenced a series of programmes comprising workshops, seminars, etc. to enhance the capacity of selected Government Officials focussing on improving exports through innovation, research and development.
The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Brazil successfully organised a three-day trade and tourism promotional event in Sao Paulo, the commercial capital of Brazil, from 20 to 22 February. The event drew the interest of a large number of prominent Brazilian importers, trade consultants, officials of trade associations, travel journalists and travel trade industries based in Sao Paulo.
2019-03-01/ https://www.eetindia.co.in/news/article/Sri-Lanka-An-Emerging-Electrical-and-Electronics-Sector
The Electrical and Electronics Industry in Sri Lanka has grown over the past 40 years into a key industrial manufacturing sector, contributing towards the country’s economic growth
The World Expo is one of the oldest and largest international events taking place every 5 years and lasting for 6 month where everyone can learn, innovate and create progress by sharing ideas and working together through a common theme. United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been selected as the host country for the forthcoming event to be held in year 2020. This World Expo will be held for a period of six months from 20th October 2020 to 10th April 2021 in Dubai under the theme “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”. The World Expo in Dubai in 2020 will be the first to be held in the MENA & SA (Middle East and North Africa & South Asia Region.
Government in collaboration with the private sector is in the process of setting up an operation of a Business Center for Incubators and Accelerators in the Northern region in order to develop Enterprises in the Technology Sector by youth in the Northern region.
The National Export Strategy (NES) is progressing in the right direction. It has six focused areas and is expected to provide the impetus for the export drive supporting economic growth, Chairperson of the Export Development Board (EDB), Indira Malwatte said.
2019-01-30/ http://www.ft.lk/energy/Sri-Lankan---based-solar-power-company-with-facilitation-of-Embassy-in-Bahrain--invests---10-m/10509-671918
Sri Lankan based JLanka International, a leading solar and renewal energy technology solutions provider in South Asia, has been chosen by the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain to commission the Sustainable Energy Unit (SEU) under the stewardship and guidance of Minister of Electricity and Water of Bahrain to install solar PV systems on over 500 Government and state-owned buildings in Bahrain including schools, universities, corporates and hospitals, among others. This is particularly significant since the total value of investment would be in excess of $ 10 million.
Sri Lanka’s merchandise and service exports in 2018 are estimated to have hit an all-time high of $ 17 billion, up 15% from a year earlier prompting the Government to be confident of achieving the $20 billion milestone this year.
The 22nd Presidential Export Awards Ceremony was held to celebrate the outstanding achievements of the Exporters at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo, on September 18, 2018, under the patronage of His Excellency Maithripala Sirisena the President of Sri Lanka.
Following is the address by Minister Malik Samarawickrama at the Presidential Export Awardson 18 September
The National Export Strategy (NES) has started sailing in the high waves after obtaining the Cabinet approval and the launch with all the stakeholders of the NES. The NES, a flagship development project spearheaded by the Development Strategies and International Trade Ministry and Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB), together with the public-private partnership, commenced its implementation.
