The Sri Lanka High Commission in South Africa and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), successfully organized the “Sri Lanka South Africa Business Forum’ on November 16, 2018, at the JCCI Auditorium. This forum was organized with the objective of facilitating B2B meetings for visiting Sri Lankan rubber and plastic exporters who participated at the COMPLAST 2018 held in Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg from November 13 to 15. Seven Sri Lankan exhibitors namely, Textrip Pvt. Ltd, Idea Industries Limited, the Plastic and Rubber Industries and Education Centre, PE+ and S- Lon Lanka Pvt. Ltd., Plastic and Rubber Institute of Sri Lanka, Lanka Mineral & Chemical Pvt. Ltd., and Global Vinyl Limited, participated in the exhibition through the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
The Business Forum commenced with welcome remarks by President of JCCI, Herman Breedt, who invited the Sri Lankan delegates to explore business opportunities not only in South Africa, but also in whole of the African region through the Chamber. During his remarks, High Commissioner Kumar Mallimartchi emphasized that his intention was to ensure to create opportunities for trade and utilize all connections made to strengthen the economic relations between the countries. First Secretary - Commercial, Kapila J. Kumara, made a brief presentation, highlighting trade relations between the two countries and an overview of export products of Sri Lanka.
Each Sri Lankan company was also given the opportunity to make brief presentations concerning their businesses and product profiles. Delivering closing remarks and the vote of thanks, Additional Secretary to Ministry of Industry and Commerce, S Balasubramaniam, highlighted the importance of the economic relationship between the two countries and invited South African businessmen to visit Sri Lanka to explore the opportunities available in terms of trade and investment.
This was followed by the networking B2B session where over 50 South African Businesses interacted and held successful discussions with the Sri Lankan delegation.
The audience at the business forum.
