BOI meets Slovenian Foreign Ministry delegation

BOI Chairman Susantha Ratnayake with visiting Slovenian delegation and BOI officials

• Discusses potential for investment and economic cooperation

Board of Investment Chairman Susantha Ratnayake recently held discussions with a delegation of senior diplomats from Slovenia visiting Sri Lanka.  

The delegation was led by Marjan Cencen, Ambassador of Slovenia to Sri Lanka based in New Delhi, and Minister Plenipotentiary Mateja Vodeb Ghosh. The ambassador had visited Sri Lanka to present his credentials to the President of Sri Lanka and also to explore greater opportunity for economic cooperation. The delegation also had several meetings organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  

Ambassador Cencen expressed a willingness to build up economic relations between Slovenia and Sri Lanka, adding that Slovenia was interested in two-way cooperation where both countries would mutually benefit.  

Slovenia was interested in developing investment in specific projects. Although a small country, Slovenia is a member of the European Union, the world’s largest trading block and also part of the Euro currency zone. In addition to being a member of the Schengen Zone, Slovenia offers travel advantages.

The BOI Chairman was assisted by Promotion Director Nilupul De Silva and Media and Publicity Director Dilip S. Samarasinghe. The visit to the BOI was coordinated by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Travel Ocean Affairs, Environment and Climate Change Director Hasanthi Dissanayake.

Currently, there is about $ 8 million worth of bilateral trade between Sri Lanka and Slovenia, but many more advantages can be accrued since Slovenia is a gateway to Germany and enjoys strong relations with certain key Asian countries such as South Korea. The Ambassador stated that South Korean Hyundai cars are in fact assembled in Slovenia and exported to European Union countries.  

The BOI Chairman revealed some of the ideas and goals of the Sri Lankan Government. He briefed the Slovenian delegation on the President’s strategic goal to develop smart technology in Sri Lanka which would lead to an increase in the country’s levels of digitalisation.  

He also spoke of the Government’s plans to develop sources of renewable energy and make it the country’s leading energy source by 2030.

Sri Lanka also stood to gain from growing Chinese investments, in the light of recent global tensions in the area of trade. Sri Lanka’s advantage, as stated by the Chairman, was that the country enjoyed friendly relations with all countries and also enjoyed market access through free trade agreements with India, Pakistan and Singapore.

During the course of the discussion, a number of key sectors were identified and discussed as areas of possible cooperation in the future. These included the pharmaceutical industry, which is strong in Slovenia and which Sri Lanka is eager to develop as part of an import substitution policy.  

Slovenia is also advanced in the avenue of renewable energy and could share some of its experience with Sri Lanka. Furthermore, the European country has set up a centre for artificial intelligence in its capital, Ljubljana. Other areas of cooperation discussed include the manufacture of car parts and cooperation in the field of tourism. Both sides agreed to promote greater economic ties in the future.