The Sri Lanka High Commission in South Africa and the Sri Lankan Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in collaboration with the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), successfully held the 'Sri Lanka-South Africa Business Forum' on 16 November at the JCCI Auditorium. The forum was held with the aim of facilitating a B2B meeting for visiting Sri Lankan rubber and plastics exporters who participated in COMPLAST 2018, which was held from 13th to 15th November at the Gallagher Convention Center in Johannesburg. Ta. Seven exhibitors from Sri Lanka namely: Textrip Ltd., Idea Industries Limited, Plastics and Rubber Industry and Education Center, PE+ and S-Lon Lanka Ltd., Sri Lanka Institute of Plastics and Rubber, Lanka Mineral & Chemical Ltd.; Global Vinyl Limited participated in the exhibition through the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The Business Forum began with a welcome address from JCCI President Herman Breed, who invited the Sri Lankan delegates to explore business opportunities not only in South Africa but also throughout the African region through the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Sri Lankan High Commissioner Kumar Marimaruti in his address said that the intention is to leverage all the links created to ensure the creation of trade opportunities and strengthen economic ties between the two countries. emphasized. Kapila J. Kumara, First Secretary (Commercial), gave a short presentation highlighting the bilateral trade relationship and an overview of Sri Lanka's export products. Each Sri Lankan company was also given the opportunity to give a brief presentation about their business and product overview. S. Balasubramaniam, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, who delivered closing remarks and a vote of thanks, emphasized the importance of economic relations between the two countries and encouraged South African businesses to explore the opportunities available in terms of trade and investment. invited to visit Sri Lanka. This was followed by a networking B2B session where over 50 South African companies interacted and discussions were successfully held with the Sri Lankan delegation.