Sri Lanka is now officially an approved participant at the World Expo 2020 Dubai as the Government of Sri Lanka signed the Official Participation Contract with the "Dubai Expo 2020 Bureau” on 08th July 2019. The high level delegation to the UAE for the Contract signing Ceremony was led by Hon. Nalin Bandara, Deputy Minister of Development Strategies & International Trade. Ms. Indira Malwatte, Chairperson & Chief Executive, Sri Lanka Export Development Board as the Commissioner General for Sri Lanka of Expo 2020 Dubai, signed the Official Participation Contract on behalf of Sri Lanka with Mr. Najeeb Mohammed Al-Ali, Executive Director of Dubai Expo 2020 Bureau in the presence of Hon. Nalin Bandara, Deputy Minister of Development Strategy and International Trade.
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) has been conducting the Exporters’ Forum since its inception from late 70s. The EDB has identified the need of a common platform to discuss and resolve the issues faced by the exporter community in Sri Lanka in order to facilitate exporters to overcome constraints arising from policy and operational issues created by various institutes that regulate, operate, and facilitate cross border trade. The EDB as the nation’s prime institute to facilitate export development created this mechanism to enable exporters to submit their issues to the highest levels of state institutions that cannot be reached easily by a trader. The unique feature of the Exporters’ Forum is the participation of the private sector and the public sector to resolve issues, with the political leadership represented by the relevant minister together with direct ministry-level interventions providing solutions to address those issues.
2019-07-03/ http://www.ft.lk/business/Sri-Lanka-participates-in-16th-China-International-Small-and-Medium-Enterprises-Fair/34-681129
Sri Lanka Export Development Board, in coordination with the Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Guangzhou, participated in the 16th China International Small and Medium Fair (CISMEF) from 24-27 June.
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) is planning to hold the 23rd Presidential Export Awards Ceremony under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena on 19 September at the BMICH
Connecting global markets has always been a core value proposition for Sri Lanka. For centuries the island nation has leveraged its strategic geopolitical positioning to connect the East and the West. Now, as traditional logistics models are disrupted by technological advancements, geographic location is gradually losing its relevance. Despite this, Sri Lanka looks set to continue being a vital piece of the global logistics puzzle through a transition from one core strength to another: a world class tech industry and strong affinity for disruptive digital innovation. The country’s robust talent pool and innovative culture has helped it be a part of global supply chains that would never traditionally cross Lankan shores. Nowhere is this better exemplified than in the case of 99X Technology and IceFresh.
2019-05-23/ http://www.ft.lk/business/Sri-Lanka-participates-at-Seafood-Expo-Global-2019-Brussels/34-678696
Sri Lankan seafood exporters participated at the 27th Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global at the Brussels Expo, the world’s largest trade fair in the fisheries sector, which was successfully held from 7-9 May in Brussels, Belgium.
Transforming Sri Lanka into the hub of the Indian Ocean, with a knowledge-based, highly competitive and social-market economyis the objective of the Vision 2025 policy document of the Government.Making the transistion to anexport, FDI and tourism orientedcountry is the only optionfor Sri Lanka to create better jobs for the youth of our country and to graduate to a higher income economy.
As per the instructions of the Hon. Malik Samarawickrama, Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade, Export Development Board organized a meeting with the key Exporters and Investors on Friday 03rd May 2019 at the 3rd Floor Auditorium to discuss the current situation of the country.
Sri Lanka’s share in the global export market and the contribution of exports to the national GDP has been in decline whereas imports to the country is in the increase. Further exports are dependent on imported inputs therefore, it is noted that the gap between export and import has been continuously increasing.
2019-04-10/ http://www.ft.lk/business/Oceanpick-first-in-South-Asia-to-earn-BAP-certification--for-offshore-farming/34-675338
Sustainable oceanic fish farm Oceanpick Ltd. has been awarded the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification, making Sri Lanka a pioneer in South Asia - and only the 34th country in the world - with a BAP-certified facility.
The EDB is implementing a national programme to nurture 2000 new entrepreneurs to become exporters during the period 2017 - 2022 at regional level. The main objective of this programme is to encourage domestic enterprises to invest in export industries to achieve the overall export target of US $ 28 billion in 2022. Simultaneously new entrants have gained opportunities in the international marketing experience.
Sri Lanka’s merchandise and service exports in 2018 are estimated to have hit an all-time high of $ 17 billion, up 15% from a year earlier prompting the Government to be confident of achieving the $20 billion milestone this year.
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Embassy in Japan is organising an Inward Buyer Delegation from Japan, from 3-5 December with the objective of developing business linkages between Sri Lankan companies and the Japanese buyers and to increase awareness among Sri Lankan exporters on the Japanese market.
The 22nd Presidential Export Awards Ceremony was held to celebrate the outstanding achievements of the Exporters at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo, on September 18, 2018, under the patronage of His Excellency Maithripala Sirisena the President of Sri Lanka.
Following is the address by Minister Malik Samarawickrama at the Presidential Export Awardson 18 September
2018-07-26/ http://www.ft.lk/business/EDB-organises-seminar-and-matchmaking-program-on-Canadian-market-in-Colombo/34-659773
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) organised a seminar and matchmaking program with the services of two Canadian marketing experts. The objective of the program is to increase awareness among Sri Lankan exporters on the Canadian market and to develop business linkages between Sri Lankan companies and buyers in Canada for increasing exports to Canada.
2018-05-16/ http://www.ft.lk/business/EDB-awareness-program-for-Southern-Province-entrepreneurs-to-establish-2-000-exporters-by-2020/34-655151
Sri Lanka Export Development Board organised an awareness program for the entrepreneurs of the Southern Province on the national program to establish 2,000 new exporters. The program was held at the Sanaya Hotel, Matara on Friday, 11 May.
2018-02-06/ http://www.ft.lk/business/Highlights-of-Sri-Lanka-Singapore-FTA-which-makes-watershed--in-Sri-Lankan-economy/34-648827
On 23 January, Sri Lanka marked a significant watershed in the development of its economy when it signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Singapore after 18 months of negotiations between the trade negotiation teams of both countries.
A delegation from Nagano Employers’ Association in Nagano Prefecture, Japan visited Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) with the objective of increasing awareness on Sri Lankan key export products and services...........
Hatton National Bank (HNB) in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) has introduced a new export credit scheme for the benefit of small and medium-scale exporters in Sri Lanka.