India seeking mutual benefit through strengthening of Indo-SL FTA

The Island - 26/01/2015
By Zacki Jabbar in Jaffna

India says it is looking to strengthen the Indo-Lanka Free Trade Agreement in a manner that would be mutually beneficial to both countries.

The Consul General of India in Jaffna, A.Natarajan who was the Chief Guest at the opening ceremony of the  sixth edition of the Jaffna International Trade Fair (JITF) held at the Jaffna Library on Friday said that with an ever increasing number of  Indian companies doing business with Sri Lanka, it would be an opportune time to strengthen the Indo-Lanka FTA, which if tapped to its true potential would serve both nations well.

With  around fifty percent of the  exhibitors who participated in JITF 2015 being Indian affiliated, he assured the presence of   more industrialists and entrepreneurs from his country at next  years edition of the event. "I will  encourage more of our    businessman to  individually or in partnership with their Sri Lankan counterparts invest in the Jaffna Peninsula."

The three day event which was held at the Municipal Ground, in close proximity to the Jaffna Library concluded on Sunday.

Commending the organizers of JITF, the Presidential award winning Lanka Exhibition and Conference Services (LECS) for hosting the event for the sixth consecutive year, Natarajan observed that it had become  a one stop shop for  servicing industries in sectors ranging from construction, hospitality, food and beverage, packing , automobile industry, ICT, financial services, apparel, agricultural , consumer goods and many others.

Chairman of the Northern Provincial Council  C. V. K. Sivagnanam said that he welcomed more industrial and  trading partnerships between the North and South of the country and even with India and other nations in a conducive environment that had been created by the installation of a new government headed by President Maithripala Sirisena.

President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industries of Yarlpanam, K. Vignesh urged the  northern industries to make maximum use of the  vast opportunities that JITF had presented them with. 

Managing Director of LECS, Arjun Dharmadasa said that their trade exhibition had made great strides since it was launched six years ago." We, are happy that JITF has contributed to the development of Jaffna and are working towards taking it to a higher level."

Founder Chairman of JITF, Kosala Wickremenayake recalled that when they first hosted the exhibition, infrastructure in the region including the  main road was in a poor state, but had since improved mainly due to the demand created by JITF, resulting in a large number of goods, machinery and equipment and people having to be transported to and fro.

India, he noted had at that time contributed Rs.100 million for initial infrastructural development.

Chief Executive Officer of LECS Asim Mukthar said they were happy that many of the pioneer exhibitors associated with JITF continued to come back year after year, which indicated that  they had received a good response for their products.

The Kalvi or Education Pavilion at the JITF had contributed to many campuses and educational institutes being established in Jaffna, he added.

The exhibition had been  organized with the prime objective of helping various industries to make inroads into the peninsula, Mukthar observed. "The doors are wide open for entrepreneurs and businesses to operate in an environment which is conducive for long and short term investments."

With a clear mandate and a road map for development, there were many opportunities for a wide range of industries to thrive in the northern most tip of the country , General Manager of LECS Husine Rauff noted, adding that  the over 200 exhibitors who had offered their wares and services at JITF included around 100 Indian affiliated  businesses representing various sectors.

The event was supported by the  Consulate General of India in Jaffna, Federation of Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Sri Lanka, Ceylon Institute of Builders, Sri Lanka Convention Bureau, and the Jaffna Municipal Council. It, has been endorsed by the  Ministry of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development and the Sri Lanka Export Development Board.