Sujeewa Senasinghe, State Minister of International Trade together with Anura de Silva, State Secretary of the State Ministry of International Trade and Indira Malwatte, chairperson and Chief Executive of the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB), welcomed on-board key sponsors and partners of the World Export Development Forum (WEDF) 2016 at a press conference held at the EDB recently. Fazal Mushin – WEDF 2016 co-chairman also present for the proceedings.
DFCC Bank PLC - Exclusive Banking Partner for the event, and Brandix- Exclusive Apparel Partner representing Sri Lanka’s apparel sector, handed over the sponsorship pledges to State Minister Senasinghe. Both organizations are Platinum Sponsors of the event.
"For over 60 years, DFCC Bank has been in the forefront of development, transforming rural economies by nurturing entrepreneurship, partnering and financing pioneering ventures and new industries, thereby contributing significantly towards the economy." CEO of DFCC Bank stated. "The World Export Development Forum will play a crucial role in enabling businesses to understand how they can flourish by utilizing effective value chains and embracing the benefits of sustainable trade, and DFCC Bank is proud to partner with the EDB as the exclusive banking partner of this prestigious event, which aligns seamlessly with our efforts to drive economic growth in the country."
Commenting on the Group’s sponsorship of WEDF 2016, a spokesperson for Brandix said: "Given the changes and challenges in global markets, hosting the World Export Development Forum in Sri Lanka this year is particularly timely. The Forum will provide an excellent platform for the country to demonstrate its potential as a source for high quality products and services at competitive prices. As a company driven by world-class solutions, Brandix is happy to collaborate with the Export Development Board as a Platinum sponsor and ‘Exclusive Apparel Partner’ at this important event."
Expolanka Holdings and Link Natural Products will be Gold Sponsors at WEDF 2016, with Nestlé Lanka PLC and Dialog Axiata PLC joining in as Silver Sponsors. The country’s national carrier Sri Lankan Airlines come on-board as the official Airline Partner of the event, while EWIS Information Systems takes on the role of IT Partner of the 2-day conference.
"It’s immensely encouraging to receive support from a number of key players as we host WEDF 2016, from a collective of industries," State Minister Senasinghe expressed. "From financial institutions to apparel exports, from telecommunication and IT to some of the top 10 corporate brands in the country, we see these organizations coming together to uplift the immediate future of export and investment in the country. We are looking forward to the imminent success of this event."
State Secretary of the State Ministry of International Trade, Anura de Silva commented, "In keeping with the theme of this year’s conference, which is ‘Trade for Success: Connect, Compete, Change’, we are clearly on the right track in connecting leading professionals in trade from around the world. WEDF 2016 promises to be a great networking event for business leaders."
"We have reconfirmed the significance of this globally represented summit being hosted in Sri Lanka, and are greatly encouraged to see our local corporates and institutions backing us in our endeavour to make Sri Lanka’s presence felt at a global scale in the export industry," commented Indira Malwatte, chairperson. "We invite other like minded corporates to come forward and join us in making this conference a truly memorable one."
The 16th edition of the conference scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka on 12th & 13th of October 2016 is the flagship event of the International Trade Centre (ITC), and is a highly anticipated event in the global export industry calendar.
Within the WEDF 2016 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, ITC and EDB will organize facilitated B2B meetings on 11th October 2016 enabling opportunities for companies around the world to meet potential business partners. Individual matchmaking meetings between high potential buyers/sellers will be arranged by the WEDF team to meet the addressed business needs for each company. These will allow participants to explore new business opportunities taking advantage of the strategic position of Sri Lanka at the crossroads of important maritime routes to the Indian Ocean.
B2Bs will cater to the following sectors: Information and communication technologies (ICTs), Tourism, Specialty food: Tea and Spices, Processed food, Apparel, Rubber, Manufacturing.
The agenda for the conference, speaker lists and information regarding fringe events will be made available on the web portal as and when they are announced.
For more information on WEDF 2016, including the programme and registration, please visit http://www.intracen.org/wedf and http://www.wedf.edb.gov.lk
