Lionel Silva heads Sri Lanka-Canada Business Council

September 23, 2019 cslbc 0

PHOTO IMAGE: New office bearers: Seated from L-R: Ramya Weerakoon, Infotechs Limited, Committee Member; Sajith Rajapaksa, Vice President SLCBC; David McKinnon, High Commissioner for Canada; […]

Free Visa to Sri Lanka for Visitors from 39 countries

April 20, 2019 cslbc 0

I’m a big fan of countries eliminating barriers to entry, whether that comes in the form of removing the hassle or cost associated with visiting. […]

Procurement guidelines before Sri Lanka Cabinet

April 20, 2019 cslbc 0

Procurement guidelines before Cabinet next week Comments / 584 Views / Friday, 19 April 2019 00:00 Long awaited guidelines sent to Cabinet Office Commission expects […]

Expressways earn Rs. 320 million during New Year season

April 20, 2019 cslbc 0

The Road Development Authority stated that Sri Lankan expressways generated an income of Rs. 320 million during the past 12 days. Expressway Operations Maintenance and […]

Floating Solar Power Plant at Maduru Oya

April 10, 2019 cslbc 0

Canadian firm agrees to set up 100 mw plant: Wednesday, April 10, 2019. Power, Energy and Business Development Ministry Secretary Dr. Suren Batagoda and Canadian […]

Sri Lanka to offer free visa on arrival to Indians

March 20, 2019 cslbc 0

Times Travel Editor|TRAVEL NEWS, SRI LANKA – Apr 19, 2019. Sri Lanka to offer free visa on arrival to IndiansCredit: Getty Images In a welcome […]

New Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha assumes duties

November 1, 2018 cslbc 0

October 31, 2018. Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha, a senior officer of the Sri Lanka Foreign Service, assumed duties as the Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign […]

Sri Lanka hikes fuel prices, petrol Rs155 a litre

October 10, 2018 cslbc 0

Oct 10, 2018. ECONOMYNEXT – Prices of petrol and a grade of diesel will be increased from midnight Wednesday, Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Finance announced. […]

Mangala Yapa appointed BOI Chairman

Friday, April 12, 2019.

MANGALA YAPA, a respected professional with extensive private sector and public sector experience, has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Board of Investment by President Maithripala Sirisena. duties as the 22nd Chairman of the country’s apex investment promotion authority, following an earlier stint as a Member of its Board.
Yapa was the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Colombo Dockyard PLC, a CSE-listed company, for many years and led the company’s rapid growth and international expansion. Subsequently he headed the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) as the Secretary General/CEO and was also President of the National Chamber of Exporters (NCE). He has functioned as technical advisor to the Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade and played a pivotal role in recent strategic and large-scale FDIs.

a Master of Science in Engineering (Hons.), from Astrakhan, Russia and a Master of Business Administration from the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM), University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL), Chartered Engineer accredited by IESL and a Member of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology, UK, a Founder Fellow of the Chartered Professional Managers (FCPM) and a member of the PIM Alumni. an alumni of the Harvard Kennedy School’s ‘Leading Economic Growth’ Executive Education

Farewell to Mr. Karu Paranawithana

Consul-General for Sri Lanka in Toronto

Farewell to outgoing Consul-General for Sri Lanka in Toronto, Mr. Karu Paranawithana held on November 25, 2013, in Toronto. Also in photo is Actg. Consul General Mr. Asoka Godawita.

World Export Development Forum – Oct. 12-13, 2016

wedf The 16th edition of ITC's flagship event, the World Export Development Forum (WEDF), will be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 12-13 October. WEDF is a unique global platform to support trade-led development through two days of high-level plenaries, workshops and facilitated business-to business meetings.

Hambantota District Chamber of Commerce delegation visits Toronto

Leader, HDCC Delegation to Canada Mr. Azmi Thassim with Upali Obeyesekere, Kula Sellathurai and Consul General Mr. U.L.M. Jauhar at a reception hosted by Canada-Sri Lanka Business Council on September 8, 2015, for a visiting delegation from Hambantota District Chamber of Commerce.

Visa on arrival to Sri Lanka for 39 countries from May 1

April 7, 2019, 7:08 pm

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The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal from the Minister of Tourism to issue visa on arrival to tourists visiting Sri Lanka from 39 countries. Cabinet also decided to issue these visas on gratis basis as an incentive to attract tourists.

The programme will be a pilot project effective for an initial period of six months commencing 1st May 2019 and ending 31st October 2019. The programme will be considered for continuation thereafter based on the progress achieved during the pilot period.

The Cabinet Memorandum in this regard was presented by Minister of Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs, John Amaratunga and received Cabinet approval on 19th March 2019 with the concurrence of the Ministry of Internal and Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government, under whose purview the Department of Emigration and Immigration operates, and the Ministry of Finance. "I’m happy to note that the President, Prime Minister and all other Cabinet Ministers whole heartedly welcomed this proposal," said Minister Amaratunga.

The countries included in the visa on arrival programme are as follows:

1. Austria, 2. Belgium, 3. Bulgaria, 4. Cambodia, 5. Croatia, 6. Cyprus, 7. Czech Republic, 8. Denmark, 9. Estonia, 10. Finland, 11. France, 12. Germany, 13. Greece, 14. Hungary, 15. Ireland,16. Italy, 17. Latvia, 18. Lithuania, 19. Luxembourg, 20. Malta, 21. Netherlands, 22. Poland, 23. Portugal, 24. Romania, 25. Slovak Republic, 26. Slovenia, 27. Spain, 28. Sweden, 29. United Kingdom, 30. United States of America, 31. Japan, 32. Australia, 33. South Korea, 34. Canada, 35. Singapore, 36. New Zealand, 37. Malaysia, 38. Thailand, 39. Switzerland.

Sri Lanka High Commissioner to Canada H.E. Ahmed A. Jawad with CSLBC Directors

H.E. Ahmed A. Jawad with board of directors

SRI LANKA: Tourist arrivals up 4.7% in March

Monday, 8 April 2019.

Tourist arrivals in March have improved by 4.7% to 244,328, bringing the cumulative first quarter figure to 740,600, reflecting a 4.6% growth year-on-year.

The largest source market for tourists was India (up 5.6% to 34,812), followed by the United Kingdom (up 8.8% to 29,682), and China (up 12.6% to 23,759).

Arrivals from Germany and France were down 26% and 6%, respectively, to 18,134 and 13,957.

Almost 93% of tourists travelled by air to Sri Lanka. Last year, tourist arrivals amounted to 2.3 million, and the projection for 2019 is 2.8 million.

Europe became the largest source of tourist traffic to Sri Lanka with 49% of the total traffic received in March. Asia and accounted for 40% of the total traffic followed by America at 8%, Middle

East at 2%, and Africa at 1%.

India, United Kingdom, China, Germany and France were Sri Lanka’s top five international generating markets in the month of March this year. India was the largest source of tourist traffic to Sri Lanka with 14% of the total traffic received in March. accounted for 12% of the total traffic while China, Germany and France accounted for 10%, 7%, and 6%, respectively.

Lunch hosted in honour of Director/Promotions, SLTB

tea-2016 Lunch Hosted by Deputy Consul General Mr. Asoka Godawita in honour of visiting dignitary Ms. Premala Srikantha - Director, Promotions of the Sri Lanka Tea Board.

H.E. (Mrs.) Chitranganee Wagiswara – Sri Lanka High Commissioner to India

wagiswara

High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India Chitranganee Wagiswara presented credentials to the President of India Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapathi Bhawan in New Delhi on Monday 26 September 2016.

CSLBC AGM 2014

Formed in 1990

The Annual General Meeting of Canada-Sri Lanka Business Council for 2014 was held at Radisson Hotel in Toronto.

CSLBC AGM 2014 - Group photo with Actg. Consul General for Sri Lanka Mr. Asoka Godawita.

Read posts by CSLBC AGM 2014

Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI)

Sri Lanka is situated strategically at the crossroads of major shipping routes South Asia, the Far East and the continents of Europe and America, making the country a convenient port of call for shipping lines and air freight services. Further, Sri Lanka’s proximity to the Indian sub-continent positions the country as a gateway to a market of 1.3 billion people. These factors have combined to generate keen interest in the country’s logistics sector, as well as from manufacturers looking for opportunities in the South Asian region.

The BOI has in place several initiatives to reduce the time taken for approval processes and to resolve investor issues efficiently, thereby assisting investors to navigate the necessary administrative processes in the shortest possible time. These consist of several high level committees which meet at regular intervals to accommodate investor needs, with the sole purpose of expediting projects.

The Project Screening Committee (PSC):

This consists of cross functional representation of the BOI immediately screens all investment applications jointly across all relevant departments to grant approval in an expeditious manner.

Single Window Investment Approval Committee (SWIAC):

Any projects which further clearance on operational issues will be referred to this higher level is chaired by a Senior Advisor to the Hon. Prime Minister.

Investment Approval Facilitation Committee (IAFC):

Matters requiring policy level intervention are referred to the Secretary to the Treasury, for speedy resolution.

Single Window Investment Facilitation Task Force (SWIFT)

Being the investment facilitator, BOI has taken an initiative to improve service delivery by introducing will act as a facilitation arm of investment process and will provide necessary linkages to the relevant line agencies in order to expedite the project approval process through a function based virtual platform. SWIFT will improve investor awareness regarding the compliances and will guide the investor throughout the approval process.

Once the project is approved by the Single Window Investment Approval Committee (SWIAC) and BOI, will be referred to SWIFT to commence the facilitation process with regard to the line agency approvals. Any issue in respect of the project will be referred to the Investment Approval Facilitation Committee (IAFC) for a solution.

Under this initiative, it has improved the information transparency of regulatory processes and process simplification of the line agencies. Twenty-four of the most important line agencies are linked under one platform with this mechanism and have agreed to follow a phased approach as a strategy to achieve the outcome.

Mission Statement: Canada-Sri Lanka Business Council

The fundamental mission of the Canada-Sri Lanka Business Council is to promote and assist bi-lateral trade, investment, tourism, infrastructure, technology transfer and industrial cooperation between Canada and Sri Lanka. Using effective communication methods and networking, the Council strives to build awareness within the Canadian business community of the tremendous opportunities that await them in Sri Lanka and vice-versa. The Council offers an excellent platform for its members to enhance their reputation by providing exposure that helps them to reach their goals.

These objectives shall be achieved by the following means:

Provide market information, commercial intelligence, advocacy and other assistance to businesses in both jurisdictions;

Act as a catalyst to promote bi-lateral trade relations between both jurisdictions;

introduce individuals and firms to relevant business contacts in the pursuance of finding suitable agents, distributors, representatives and joint venture partners; and relevant decision-makers and end-users – both public and private sector;

Raise awareness of potential business opportunities by disseminating commercial information through Newsletters, Website, Seminars and other means;

Attract and maintain a nucleus of quality business members to the Council in the furtherance of its objective;

Interact with our partners in Sri Lanka by communicating effectively with The Sri Lanka-Canada Business Council (SLCBC) and The National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) and formulating business initiatives that will benefit our membership;

Work closely with the diplomatic missions in both jurisdictions by creating an open line of communication to share useful trade, investment, and economic news that will benefit the membership;

Encourage and assist incoming official trade delegations from Sri Lanka to Canada by organizing outreach activity that will stimulate business and joint venture partnerships;

Promote and organize outgoing trade mission activity to Sri Lanka in order to familiarize ourselves with the investment climate and business environment ‘on ground’ for setting up joint venture partnerships that will promote trade and investment;

Undertake other special initiatives that in the opinion of the Council shall help the fundamental mission of the Council.

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Canada-Sri Lanka Business Council - CSLBC

Promoting bilateral trade & investment between Canada & Sri Lanka

SRI LANKA

Lionel Silva heads Sri Lanka-Canada Business Council

Free Visa to Sri Lanka for Visitors from 39 countries

Procurement guidelines before Sri Lanka Cabinet

Expressways earn Rs. 320 million during New Year season

Floating Solar Power Plant at Maduru Oya

Sri Lanka to offer free visa on arrival to Indians

New Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha assumes duties

Sri Lanka hikes fuel prices, petrol Rs155 a litre

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