India and Sri Lanka to discuss trade

Dec 16, 2007, 11:54 GMT

Chennai, Dec 16 (IANS) Sri Lankan Minister for International Trade G.L. Peiris will inaugurate a two-day conference on 'India-Sri Lanka: Trade and Investments' here Monday.

The conference, organised by Observer Research Foundation in association with Confederation of Indian Industries and the Sri Lankan deputy high commission, will focus on industrial and investment climate and trade related issues.

It will also have one-to-one sessions among traders for developing bilateral contacts and relations of shared, long-term interests.

Officials and industry trade representatives from India and Sri Lanka will have a free and frank exchange of views on issues and concerns of mutual concern to both the countries and all stakeholders.

After the Free Trade Agreement was signed between the two countries in 1998, the bilateral trade has more than doubled in just three years. From $557 million in 1999, it has now grown to $2.7 billion in 2007.

Now many Indian companies are investing heavily in Sri Lanka. The Indian Oil Corp is part owner of Lanka IOC, which took over the running of 100 petrol pumps of the Ceylon Petrol Corp in 2003 and commenced retailing products.

Companies such as Ashok Leyland have set up manufacturing facility in Sri Lanka, showing a clear evidence of the distance travelled from the days when Indian products were boycotted in the island nation.

Tata trucks, Bajaj auto-rickshaws, TVS and Hero brands of two-wheelers zip past on Sri Lankan roads. Shops in Colombo and elsewhere display Indian consumer goods alongside those imported from the US, Australia, Singapore and Europe.

There are many areas still where India has potential to invest. Pharmaceuticals and healthcare is one such area.

Many Sri Lankan investors and industries have been in India for some time now. Textile giant Brandix is putting up a unit on 1,000 acres in Andhra Pradesh. Other private investors from Sri Lanka, big and small, are also in the fray.

© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service