Hailing trade relationships with the UK

From 2006-2008 Mark Gooding worked as Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in London, serving under Margaret Beckett and David Miliband. He covered UK policy on Europe, Asia and Australasia, including work on the new EU treaty, Afghanistan, Burma, Kosovo, North Korea, and Pakistan.

From 2004-2006 Mark was Head of the EU Budget Team at the FCO in London, which helped deliver a successful deal on the 2007-2013 EU budget during the UK Presidency of the EU in 2005. Mark served from 2001-2004 in China, working as Political, Economic and Press Consul at the British Consulate-General in Shanghai after two years of full time training in Mandarin Chinese. Mark studied French and German at Oxford University, and spent two years in Sri Lanka as Head of Modern Languages at the British School in Colombo. Excerpts from the interview

By Dinesh Weerakkody

Q: Has the British. Policy toward Sri Lanka changed significantly in the wake of the military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE)?

A:The UK has a long and close relationship with Sri Lanka, based on historical, personal, cultural and commercial ties. As before, we continue to support efforts to achieve reconciliation and a lasting peace. We welcome the fact that Sri Lanka no longer suffers from terrorism and are pleased to see the progress that has been made in the country post-war, including in the re-building of war-damaged infrastructure and returning people to their homes. Since September 2008, the UK has contributed over £13.5 million, or approximately Rs.2.4 billion, in bilateral aid to help civilians recover from the effects of war. In a visit in February 2011, Minister Alistair Burt, FCO Minister for South Asia, announced a further contribution of £3 million (approximately Rs.540 million) towards demining work in Sri Lanka. We will continue to support these positive measures that will help rebuild and revitalise Sri Lanka.

Q:Is the UK still a preferred destination for Sri Lankan undergraduates and is the embassy making a conscious effort to promote the United Kingdom as a destination for learning and capacity building?

A: Yes. UK Higher Education is well known throughout the world for its quality and diversity. The UK remains a very popular destination for students from around the globe, including Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan students contribute hugely to the richness of UK universities and have a strong academic record. They are therefore much sought after by UK universities. We estimate that around 8,000 Sri Lankan students are in the UK, with many more enrolled on an expanding number of UK courses available in Sri Lanka through franchise arrangements. The 18th annual Education UK Exhibition recently took place in Colombo with 61 UK universities in attendance and some 2,500 visitors.

Q:The UK mission in Colombo outsourced its visa services to speed up visa processing. We hear many complaints of delays and sometimes unfair practices. Has this change really improved the efficiency and the fairness of the visa application process?

A: There are many misconceptions about our visa service. In fact the majority of visa applications are successful, and processed within the published customer service targets. Most Sri Lankan visas are processed in Chennai, India. This “hub and spoke” operation - in which the visa application is submitted and processed in different locations - is commonplace in the UK Border Agency network globally. It allows for efficiencies, more robust operating platforms and consistent decision making. Applicants in Sri Lanka still submit their visa applications and collect their passports at their local visa application centre in Colombo. Visa applications continue to be considered in the same way - by a UK Border Agency visa officer, on their individual merits, in light of all the information submitted and against the UK’s Immigration Rules. If additional checks on an individual application are required, then it may take longer to process. But the fact remains that the majority of applications are currently being processed within published customer service targets.

Moving on, what are some of the challenges that we face in areas such as transparency, government efficiency, protection of intellectual property rights, and openness to trade?

By and large, the British companies who talk to us these days about doing business in Sri Lanka talk more about opportunities than obstacles. That said, of course we support the efforts of the Sri Lankan Government to improve the business environment. It’s important that companies have confidence in decision making processes, transparency, as well as the tax and regulatory environment. Recent steps by the Government, such as the tax reforms announced in the last budget and the recent re-structuring of the Board of Investment, are very welcome.

Q:Is Sri Lanka still a top tourist destination for Brits and what more should we do to attract more Brits into Sri Lanka?

A: Yes, definitely. Sri Lanka is popular among British tourists, who enjoy the country’s heritage, beaches and natural beauty. In 2010, Britain sent the second largest number of visitors (over 105,000) to Sri Lanka after India.  British tourists contribute more to the Sri Lankan economy than any other group. They spend on average more than $82/Rs. 9,000 a day, stay an average of 10-12 days and travel to many diverse parts of the island. I think British people will always be attracted to Sri Lanka because of our historical and cultural ties. Given that Sri Lankan tourism is now developing at a rapid pace with the opening of new hotels, and the entry to the market of some very well known resort brands, its popularity with the UK as a preferred holiday destination can only increase.  

Q:Talking of trade between the two countries what would it be like, in numbers and where do you think we are heading?

A:The UK and Sri Lanka are long standing trading partners, and enjoy a flourishing commercial relationship. I expect this to continue. The UK is the world’s sixth largest economy and is Sri Lanka’s second largest trading partner by volume. In numbers, Sri Lankan companies exported goods worth US $1b to the UK in 2010. Imports to SL from the UK were US $189m. Despite challenging global economic conditions, the trend is up in both directions. The UK is historically a major trading nation and people trust UK businesses to be transparent, fair and innovative. The UK is one of the most transparent countries in the world ranked higher by the World Bank in 2010 than many other trading partners. The UK is also a major gateway to the EU, which numbers 500m people in the world’s largest single market. I think that Sri Lankan companies recognise that business with the UK is a safe bet for sustainable economic growth - something we are all looking for. 

Q:What is the British High Commission in Colombo doing to strengthen cultural ties between our two countries?

A: The British Council, which leads on cultural and educational co-operation, has operated in Sri Lanka for 61 years. We have a large, vibrant operation working across Education, Arts and English. To illustrate this, we have 24,000 library members (meaning British Council’s library in Colombo is its largest in the world), 12,000 students learn English with us each year, 34,000 Sri Lankans sit for a UK qualification, we train 2,000 English Language teachers each year, 200 Sri Lankan schools are linked with UK schools where teachers and students work on joint projects and engage in visits - and a wide variety of other cultural and educational activities through our offices in Colombo and Kandy.

Q: As a final question what more should the UK-Sri Lanka Business Council be doing to promote Sri Lanka as a preferred destination for Foreign Direct Investment and Trade?

A:We are always happy to see inward investment in Sri Lanka from the UK. It reinforces the bilateral trade relationship and can be of benefit to both countries. (Eg: investment by London Stock Exchange in Sri Lankan company Millenium IT). UK companies provided US$300m of foreign direct investment in 2009. That was over 10% of all Foreign Direct Investment in Sri Lanka, more than any other country apart from China. And of course British investment is generally of high quality, in that it both creates and secures local jobs, and transfers knowledge. The UK-Sri Lanka Business Council has an important role to play in identifying the needs of potential investors and communicating this to the Government in order to make further improvements to the environment for international businesses operating in Sri Lanka.