Sri Lanka's Apex Organisation for Export Promotion
Steps will be taken to amend the Food Act to suit the present times and also support the food processing industry which has enormous potential, State Minister of International Trade Sujeewa Senasinghe told the 10th Exporters Forum at the Export Development Board (EDB) recently.
The Minister was responding to issues raised by meat processors with regard to the excessive time taken to test the quality of food before processing for exports. He said it is time to amend the Food Act which is around 30 years old. The time taken to complete the tests and then process food is too long. It should be done within 10 days as in other countries. “A meeting comprising stakeholders of the food processing industry and quality certifying institutions will be held shortly to solve the issue,” the Minister said.
The Government is preparing to revamp entreport schemes for re-exporting key spices from Sri Lanka including pepper, cloves, nutmeg and mace to protect Sri Lanka’s reputation for quality while banning cinnamon imports.
The proposal spearheaded by the Primary Industries Ministry has already received Cabinet approval and aims to put in place several fresh policies to ensure that spices re-exported from Colombo port are not diluted or incorrectly labelled as originating from Sri Lanka.
Jeevani Siriwardena has been appointed the new Director General of the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB).
She joined EDB as a Management Trainee in 1984. She counts over 20 years of experience at EDB in Product Management and over 10 years in the Market Development Divisions of EDB.
She handled the product and market development activities of the apparel export sector during its early growth phase and also led the development activities of the other industrial and agricultural product sectors.
Siriwardena has led several overseas marketing missions involving the private sector while also being a part of a number of presidential business delegations. She has extensive foreign market exposure, including in countries such as the US, Europe, South Africa, Japan, China and India. She also served as the Officer in Charge of the EDB-initiated Sri Lanka Trade Centre in Chennai for 15 months.
For a span of two years she worked as a visiting lecturer at the University of Colombo, prior to joining EDB.
She obtained a Bachelor of Commerce Special Degree (second class) in 1982 and a Master’s in Business Studies (Merit) from the University of Colombo. She is also an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK.
Siriwardena had her primary education in Matara where her father served as the AGA and then entered University from Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo where she obtained colours for tennis and won the national junior and juvenile silver medal for badminton.
At Colombo University she got colours for tennis, badminton and table tennis and captained the men’s and women’s tennis team of the University of Colombo in 1982, winning the Inter-University Challenge Trophy.
Chairperson, CEO Export Development Board (EDB), Sri Lanka, Ms Indira Malwatte says Punjab is performing well in improving entrepreneurship through technology in Pakistan. She was addressing a meeting held at Arfa Tower during her visit to Punjab IT Board (PITB) on Tuesday. Chairman PITB, Dr Umar Saif gave a detailed presentation to her on Plan9 and other most flourishing ICT projects and explained how ICT ventures had viably improved methods of governance in Punjab.
Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade, The Honourable Malik Samarawickrama together with the Chairperson and Chief Executive of the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) Mrs. Indira Malwatte met with the organizing committee and sub committee members, as well as sponsors and partners for a progress review meeting of the World Export Development Forum (WEDF) 2016.
“This is one of the biggest events the new Government has undertaken,” Minister Samarawickrama stated, “And we are well on track to making it an exceptional global conference.” As of the date of this meeting, the conference had 361 registered foreign participants, and 282 registered local participants, a number that is rapidly growing, with more registrations expected within the one-month countdown for the event.
Close to 40 of the most elite brands in Sri Lanka will be displaying the best of local products at a special exhibition that will coincide with the World Export Development Forum (WEDF) 2016. With the global summit scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka on 12 and 13 October this year, Sri Lankan enterprises such as Brandix Apparel Ltd., MAS Holdings, Akbar Brothers, Ceylon Tea Services, Camso Loadstar, Virtusa, 99X Technology, Gem Paradise and H.D. De Silva & Sons are ready to demonstrate their capabilities on a global platform.
The Sri Lanka pavilion at the ‘Artisan Resource at NY NOW 2016’ trade fair was declared open by Dr. Rohan Perera, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, New York on 21 August at the Jacob Javits Center, New York. Seven Sri Lankan companies participated at the Trade Fair through the Sri Lanka Exports Development Board where they were able to display giftware and lifestyle products manufactured in Sri Lanka.
The 16th edition of the World Export Development Forum (WEDF) will see global business leaders, policy makers and heads of trade discuss issues ranging from transitioning trade environments, transparency and traceability to business strategies and trade policies across the world.
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (SLEDB) together with the International Trade Centre (ITC) announced the finalised agenda of the two-day conference themed ‘Trade for Success: Connect, Compete, Change’, scheduled to be held on 12 and 13 October.
Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama on Tuesday declared that the Government was revitalising Sri Lanka’s export competitiveness with a host of far-reaching initiatives.
He offered this outlook during his presentation at the Presidential Export Awards ceremony. Following are excerpts.
It is my pleasure to be here this afternoon and to address you at this Presidential Awards ceremony. Let me also thank His Excellency Maithripala Sirisena our President, who will be with us shortly, in spite of his very busy schedule. This clearly confirms His Excellency’s commitment to assisting and encouraging our exporters.
President Maithripala Sirisena and Minister of Development and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama will lead the line-up of high-profile speakers including policy makers, trade experts, trade analysts and global business leaders, set to speak at the World Export Development Forum (WEDF), scheduled to be held on 12 and 13 October in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The International Trade Centre (ITC) together with the Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade of Sri Lanka, through the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB), organises the global summit. ITC Executive Director Arancha Gonzalez will also take the stage on the opening day of the event together with the President of Sri Lanka, to start off the two-day event.
The 20th Presidential Export Awards Ceremony organised by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) will be held under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena on 9 August commencing at 3 p.m. at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH).
The Presidential Export Awards (PEA) initiated by EDB in 1981 is the most prestigious award for exports in Sri Lanka and is presented to exporters who have made a significant contribution to Sri Lanka’s exports.
This year’s ceremony will recognise and salute the exporters for their excellence in the years 2014 and 2015 and the awards symbolise the national recognition of the exporters, particularly in non-traditional products and services.
