Minister De Silva meets UK’s International Trade Minister

Representative from FR-SoftNet presenting the company’s profile 

Representative from Pyxle, Sri Lanka presenting the company’s profile 

Representative from GUI Solutions, Sri Lanka presenting the company’s profile 

• Lankan IT sector representatives also present at ICT roundtable at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce

Sri Lanka Economic Reforms and Public Distribution Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva met with State Minister for International Trade of the Department for International Trade of the United Kingdom, Conor Burns, on the sidelines of the Sri Lanka Investment Forum 2019 held on 9 October in London.  

The meeting focused on the promotion of UK-Sri Lanka bilateral trade, including means of maintaining current market access levels and preferences for Sri Lanka’s exports to the UK following post-Brexit arrangements, given the importance of the UK market to Sri Lanka. 

During the visit, Minister de Silva also met with the former Secretary of State for International Development and longstanding friend of Sri Lanka, Dr. Liam Fox, on 8 October and discussed issues of mutual interest. 

The High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to the United Kingdom Manisha Gunasekera; Department of Commerce Director General Nimal Karunathilake and High Commission Commerce Minister Dr. Lakmini Mendis accompanied Minster De Silva to the meetings. 

The Sri Lanka delegation to the Investment Forum also participated in an ICT roundtable organised at the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce on 10 October with the support of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, to increase awareness among businesses based in Manchester and explore opportunities available for potential partnerships in the Sri Lankan ICT/BPM sector. 

At the roundtable, Dr. Rupak Kharel, Reader in Computing, Science and Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University, presented the audience with an overview of the IT sector in Manchester. Around 12 companies in the UK, representing different sectors, participated in the event. 

Sri Lankan IT companies got an opportunity to present their company profiles to the audience as well as hold B2B meetings with participating companies from the British side. 

The Sri Lankan delegation to the ICT roundtable in Manchester was represented by Sri Lanka Board of Investment (BOI) Chairman Mangala Yapa, BOI Sri Lanka Promotions Director Nilupul De Silva, Sri Lanka High Commission Second Secretary (Commercial) Senuja Samaraweera, Sri Lanka Association of Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM) Past Chairman Ruwindhu Peiris and representatives from GUI Solutions, FR Softtnet, Pyxle and Synapsis attending on behalf of the Sri Lankan ICT industry. 

The UK is Sri Lanka’s second largest export destination and the largest within the European Union, absorbing nearly 10% of total exports to the world. The UK is also among the top five investors in Sri Lanka.