CII Delegation to Call on Sri Lankan President

Aroon Kumar

New Delhi: A top-level delegation of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to Sri Lanka will be calling on Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse, President of Sri Lanka, on 12th December, 2011.

Led by Mr Kris Gopalakrishnan, Vice President, CII, and Executive Co-Chairman, Infosys Ltd, the 13-member delegation of business leaders is visiting Sri Lanka from 12 -13 December.

The CII mission, in partnership with the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, would also call upon Hon. Mr Basil Rajapakse, Minister of Economic Development, Hon. Mr. Maithripala Sirisena, Minister of Health, Hon. Mr. Rishad Bathiyutheen, Minister of Industry and Commerce, Hon. Mr. Wimal Weerawansa, Minister of Construction Industries, Mrs. Sujatha Weerakone, Director General Export Development Board and His Excellency Mr. Ashok K. Kantha, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka.

CII expects bilateral trade to expand from US$ 4.5 billion in 2010-11 to US$ 7 billion by 2015. The specific areas for cooperation with Sri Lanka identified by CII include energy, construction, financial services and agricultural development. Other key sectors to be taken up are skills development, cooperation of micro, small and medium enterprises, healthcare, and tourism.

Trade between the two neighbors has surged five times since 2000 when bilateral Free Trade Agreement was signed. India’s exports to Sri Lanka amounted to over US$ 4 billion in 2010-11, while Sri Lanka’s exports to India stood at US$ 500 million. India is the largest trade partner of Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka is India’s largest trade partner in South Asia.