Sri Lanka and Finland economic ties get big boost
„Three Mous signed between two govt.s on economic cooperation „Mous to promote joint ventures, investment and technology partnerships „LTL Holdings to sign an agreement with a Finnish company for 100MW plant in Bangladesh
Enhancing economic corporation, the Government of Sri Lanka yesterday signed three memorandums of understanding (Mous) with the Government of Finland, on digitalization, health and education sectors in addition to two private sector agreements on higher education and fertiliser.
Two more agreements will be signed within the next two weeks; they include a joint venture for a 100MW thermal electricity generation project in Bangladesh with Sri Lanka’s Lakdhanavi Limited - LTL Holdings.
Addressing the agreement signing ceremony, Finland Economic Affairs and Employment Deputy Minister Petri Peltonen said, “Sri Lanka has recognized ICT as a key catalyst and a strategic source of transformation towards smart cities and a smart society. We believe that through the Mous we are signing today, we can share valuable knowledge and expertise as well as encourage private and public actors to identify possible joint projects, pilots and activities for the benefit of both Sri Lanka and Finland.”
The Finnish government officials stated that the Mous would help the two countries to focus on areas of cooperation encouraging investment and technology partnerships such as accelerating commercial and industrial exchanges, encouraging business partnerships and joint ventures between enterprises, facilitating technology development efforts as well as promoting educational and learning exchanges.
Meanwhile, speaking at the event, Republic of Finland Ambassador to Sri Lanka Harri Kämäräinen said that Lakdhanavi Limited - LTL Holdings would sign an agreement with Wärtsilä Finland for a 100 MW flexible thermal power plant project in two weeks.
Bangladeshi Power Development Board had awarded the project to LTL following competitive bidding.
Kämäräinen also noted that Finland and Sri Lanka have already signed a joint declaration of cooperation on renewable energy during Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s official visit to Finland, which was also Wickremesinghe’s first official visit to the euro region after becoming the Prime Minister in 2015.