Large Sri Lankan contingent to Seychelles Expo

From left: National Chamber of Exporters (NCE) Sri Lanka CEO/Secretary General Shiham Marikar, CDC Events Managing Director Imran Hassan, SEnPA Small Enterprise Promotion Agency Chief Executive Officer Penny Belmont and Chefs Guild of Lanka Chairman Gerard Mendis – Pic by Daminda Harsha Perera 

Following the success of the first edition of Food and Hotel Seychelles 2014 which was inaugurated by the President of Seychelles James Michel, the second edition of the exhibition has been scheduled to take place on 23, 24 and 25 October along with the Creole festival. The main objective of FHS will be to facilitate trade between the exhibitors from all over the world offering products and services needed by the world class resort/hotel industry of the Seychelles.  

During the International Food & Hotel Supplies Exhibition many other activities such as culinary competitions and industry related seminars are planned to take place with an objective of attracting persons representing resorts and hotels from the Seychelles. FHS will act as a meeting ground and an ideal platform for all the local and international food and hotel suppliers to meet the resort personnel on a one to one basis during the event.

Food and Hotel Seychelles 2015 is organised by CDC Events in association with the Small Enterprise Promotion Agency of Seychelles (SEnPA) along with the support of the National Chamber of Exporters of Sri Lanka and Chefs Guild of Lanka. This event has been endorsed by the Seychelles Ministry of Tourism and Culture, The Seychelles Investment Board and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Seychelles. The Operation of Mihin Lanka airline to Seychelles has opened opportunities for the Sri Lankan exporters to reach the African market easily while expanding their supplies to a region which is in need for regular supplies of their day to day needs.

Strategic trade and bilateral ties had also improved with Mihin Lanka launching direct flights to Mahe. It had opened the door to free market access to East and South Africa, while a large number of companies from Sri Lanka, South Africa, Singapore and Dubai have deemed it fit to come all the way to little Seychelles, to be part of this exhibition. It, underlines the fact that today, no market is too big, or too small, no country is too far, as the rapid development of information technology has made our world a global village where communicating is just a matter of a phone call, a video link an SMS or an e-mail. 

SEnPA Chief Executive Officer Penny Belmont said that it had encouraged them to push even harder to arrive at mutually beneficial agreements where countries could work together for their common good. Belmont noted that for participants from Seychelles, the Exhibition and Culinary Challenge will not only be an opportunity to spread their wings but also it will be a definite learning experience whereby they could raise the standards of their products and services and compete with the best. She also stated that ‘an exhibition of this nature is of high value to a country for the improvement of the standards of hotels, resorts, guest houses and restaurants and also the ideal platform for industry professionals to express their ideas and upgrade to face modern trends’. 

National Chamber of Exporters (NCE) Sri Lanka CEO/ Secretary General Shiham Marikar mentioned that NCE will be supporting the Food and Hotel Seychelles Exhibition by making necessary arrangements to organise a pavilion for their members to give them the exposure of promoting their valued products and services to a new market with very high potential.

CDC Events Managing Director Imran Hassan specifically stated, “FHS 2015 will be an ideal platform for all exporters from Sri Lanka to find new business avenues in the African region and CDC events shall look forward to provide all necessary assistance for the exhibiting companies in achieving their business expectations.”