Colombo, Nov 22 (NIA) – Sri Lanka, on Tuesday said it hoped to further increase its trade ties with China next year as trade between the two nations had increased significantly within the past 10 years.
Sri Lanka’s Commerce Minister, Rishard Bathiudeen, speaking at the launch of the “China Products (Colombo, Sri Lanka) Exhibition 2016” in capital Colombo said that a significant amount of Sri Lanka’s exports and imports were to China and last year alone trade between the two countries had increased to 4 billion dollars.
“Trade between the two countries is likely to grow further with the proposed China, Sri Lanka FTA. China is one of our strongest trading partners,” Bathiudeen said.
More than 100 visiting Chinese exhibitors have arrived in Sri Lanka to take part in the three day exhibition which will showcase products such as Furniture and Interior Products, Home Appliances and construction materials.
The Exhibition will also focus on providing solutions for the tourism industry, as well as Sri Lanka’s growing retail sector.
President of the National Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka, Thilak Godamanna, speaking at the launch said that Sri Lanka was one of the steadily growing economies in the world with a GDP of around 5 percent.
He said China was an important trading partner for Sri Lanka and showed great promise as an emerging export market of Sri Lanka.
The “China Products Exhibition 2016” is organised jointly by the China Council for Promotion of International Trade, China National Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Corporation and Worldex Fiera Milano Exhibitions (Guangzhou) Company Limited.
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