Sri Lanka's Apex Organisation for Export Promotion
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) in association with the National Research Council (NRC) held an awareness session on the NRC’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Programme on 29th July, 2019, at the EDB Auditorium targeting the exporter community. The aim of the session was to educate exporters about the modalities of the PPP programme.
“This Act is truly visionary; I wish other countries had this in their export development framework!”, remarked a senior official of the Geneva-based International Trade Centre to me some months back. He was referring to the ‘Sri Lanka Export Development Act No. 40 of 1979’, which marks 40 years this month. He had found it to be an institutional arrangement that was far ahead of its time, and is still having relevance today – not just for Sri Lanka, but also for other developing countries. And he would know, having worked on export development strategies for over a dozen countries around the world.
Opening a new chapter in the exports playbook, the Government of Sri Lanka launched its flagship national agenda – The National Exports Strategy (NES) – in July 2018. The ambitions and outward looking agenda
To help Sri Lankan companies eyeing the daunting Indian market, the International Trade and Development Strategies Ministry yesterday launched a new report to assist breaking into India, with Minister Malik Samarawickrama undertaking a visit to India this week to help local businesses find success across the Palk Strait.
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board [EDB] which turned 40 years on 1st August is the premier state organization for the development and promotion of exports. The Board plays myriad roles in the export sector of the economy, as a Policy Advisor, Monitor, Promoter, Facilitator and Knowledge Provider in carrying out its responsibilities of implementing strategies for achieving national export targets.
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.
A delegation led by Hon. Nalin Bandara, Deputy Minister of Development Strategies & International Trade comprising officials from both the public and private sector visited United Arab Emirates (UAE) and met several important trade partners in the UAE. The delegation had very fruitful discussions with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry as well as Al-Maya Group and the Lulu Supermarket International.
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
Stakeholders of Sri Lanka tourism have recommenced promotional campaigns to boost the industry, nearly one-and-a-half months since the Easter Sunday attacks.
The global wellness tourism market is expected to reach USD 1,062.83 billion by the end of 2025. The growing interests of the tourists towards the sectors such as health, travel, and foods are the factors driving the growth of the market over the forecast period. However, the rising number of tourist destinations in developing countries such as India and China have attracted more customers from the international market.
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.
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.
2019-05-05/ http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2019/05/05/business/let%E2%80%99s-work-together-against-global-terrorism-tourism-promotion-bureau-chief
Sri Lanka participated in the Arabian Travel Market (ATM 2019), the largest annual professional and official exhibition for the Tourism market in the Middle East last week.
2019-05-05/ http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2019/05/05/business/%E2%80%9Ctourism-industry-will-regain-lost-ground%E2%80%9D
The tourism industry which suffered economic losses due to the Easter Sunday attacks, looks forward to regain its lost position sooner than expected with the support of the Government.
2019-03-06/ http://www.ft.lk/business/National-program-to-develop-2000-new-exporters-by-the-year-2020/34-674061
The seventh seminar for the Vavuniya, Mullaitivu and Mannar District entrepreneurs on the national program of developing 2000 new exporters was held on 1 March at the Vavuniya district secretariat conference hall.
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.
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.
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.
