Growing interest working with Sri Lanka from Swedish companies – Business Council meets in Colombo

Monday, 24 February 2020 01:22 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Sweden-Sri Lanka Business Council (SSLBC) hosted a visit from 20-21 February by Trade Secretary Anders Wickberg from the Swedish Embassy in New Delhi.

The purpose of the visit was to get the newly appointed Trade Secretary acquainted with Sri Lanka and also to meet Swedish and Sri Lankan companies with an interest of expanding business between the two countries.

Trade Secretary Anders Wickberg, Sweden Honorary Consul General Otara Gunewardene and SSLBC Secretary General Leif I. Ohlson

The visit included a tour of Trace City, Hatch Incubator, and Colombo Innovation Tower.

“Sweden, being one of the most innovative countries in the world, and with many start-ups and unicorns, plus that there are many Swedish companies who benefit from the Sri Lankan talent in the IT-field, these three stops are mandatory,” said the business council’s Secretary General Leif I. Ohlson.

On Friday (21 February), SSLBC had invited Trade Secretary Wickberg together with Sweden’s Honorary Consul General Otara Gunewardene to meet member companies. Hosted by Council Member Alexander Löwbäck of ikman.lk, some 25 Swedish and Sri Lankan Council Members had the opportunity to meet Wickberg.

Several issues were raised, from the investment climate in Sri Lanka to business visa procedures in Sweden. Wickberg spoke about his work and Swedish priorities but also about how the Swedish Government export credit system works, which can be of benefit for Sri Lankan exporters.

Secretary General Leif Ohlson ended the meeting, saying that “Sweden is a past, present and future partner to Sri Lanka. The visit by Wickberg encourages both Swedish and Sri Lankan companies to work even harder for more investments and trade between the two countries.”