Ambassador Dhammika Kumari Semasinghe met with Mr. Marek Kłoczko, President of the Polish Chamber of Commerce (KIG), and discussed at length the bilateral trade profile, emerging investment opportunities in Sri Lanka, and activities to increase two-way trade flows.
The Ambassador said that promoting trade and tourism was a priority for both countries, and highlighted that the legal framework was already in place to facilitate such activities with the signing of the bilateral agreements on ‘Cooperation in the field of Tourism’ and ‘Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income’.
She emphasized that Polish investors consider Sri Lanka as an attractive investment destination in the larger context of Asia, which is the emerging economic powerhouse. Sri Lanka was in Asia, and enjoyed its own unique strategic location as the gateway to access the vast Asia-Pacific markets.
The Ambassador further highlighted that the opportunity for diversifying export products and exploring cargo operations had expanded with the establishment of direct air connectivity between Warsaw and Colombo by the Lot Polish Airlines in 2019. She said that prioritized sectors involving value-addition and high-tech infusion for Polish investors were IT enabled services, manufacturing (electronics), food processing, agri-business, tourism, logistics, infrastructure, transport and pharmaceutical.
KIG President Marek agreeing that the prospects were bright for expanding business opportunities between Sri Lanka and Poland, underlined that increasing awareness of Sri Lanka as an attractive investment destination among the wider Polish business community was critical, along with building confidence in the credibility of the investment processes and investment protection in Sri Lanka. Mr. Marek briefed the Ambassador on the opportunities available for joint ventures in Poland. In this regard, the hospitality and IT/BPO sectors held much promise. Mr. Marek proposed convening a virtual event to enable B2B meetings between the IT/BPO sector companies in the two countries, to implement the trade and investment promotional roadmap discussed during the meeting.
Sri Lanka Embassy Warsaw
26 August 2021