High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India Sudharshan Seneviratne on Monday invited industry from Chandigarh and Punjab to tap the opportunities in the island nation.
"There is an immense untapped potential for stronger trade cooperation, collaboration and business ties between industry from north India, especially Punjab, Chandigarh and Haryana region, and Sri Lanka in the sectors of pharmaceuticals, tourism, livestock management, light engineering and healthcare."
He said the good relationship with India can be leveraged to work actively for the benefit of industry of both countries. "We are fully committed to facilitate industry from Punjab and Haryana region to enter into joint ventures or agreements with their counterparts in Sri Lanka in these sectors. We would offer you best working conditions as well as managerial labour, especially with 95 per cent of our population being literate. I will soon discuss the possibility of holding road shows across Indian states to enhance B2B ties. Our vision is now to go beyond Delhi. We are focusing on north Indian states, primarily because of immense production capacities here for which we can offer perfect production distribution facilities in Lanka," he added.
By collaborating together, he added, "Sri Lanka can act as an ideal transshipment centre for Indian goods to be further exported throughout the world through our harbours across the Indian Ocean. This would save a lot of your transit costs and time."
He also said that to attract tourists from North India, "we are planning to start a Guru Nanak Trail in Sri Lanka, blended with heritage and excursion trips across the voyages of the guru. The Ramayana Trail would soon have improved infrastructure facilities and a lot of other facilities like tourist information centres, guides, proper trains, beautiful beaches, golf ranges and hotels, blending both entertainment and spirituality."
