Swiss-sri Lanka Business and Investment Forums held in Geneva & Zurich
The first Swiss-Sri Lanka Business and Investment Forums were held in Geneva and Zurich on June 11-12, respectively organized by the Sri Lankan Embassy in Berlin with accreditation in Switzerland in coordination with the Swiss Asian Chamber of Commerce in Switzerland.
The embassy said the prime objective of both organizers of the event was to harness the prevailing business interests on Sri Lanka among the business community in Switzerland towards the exposure of the existing Sri Lanka's trade and investment potentials.
Sri Lankan ambassador to Switzerland, Sarath Kongahage emphasized that the relationship between Sri Lanka and Switzerland has been long, very cordial and productive over the years with some of the leading commercial establishments and companies with more than 100 years of history in Sri Lanka having their origins in Switzerland (like Baurs for example).
He invited Swiss investors and businessmen to be a partner in the development process of Sri Lanka.
The economic and financial outlook was presented by Central Bank Assistant Governor. K. D. Ranasinghe while Sri Lanka's renewable energy strategy was tackled by Pradip Jayewardene, Consul General of Sri Lanka in Frankfurt. Ms. Sabine Nowak, a Swiss project developer in Sri Lanka, shared her experiences of her project on renewable energy from the household waste in Sri Lanka.
The embassy said Steven Hedges and Michael Lutzky, partners of Sapphire Air Travel Pvt. Ltd., Washington D C detailed an investment proposal aimed at increasing the inflow of tourists to Sri Lanka by 25 per cent annually.