Sri Lanka to make its presence felt in the Philippines
Mabuhay will be the in-word for a 17-strong Sri Lankan delegation including representatives from the tea and IT sectors who will attend the 42nd Philippine Business Conference in Manila on October 12-13. ”This is the second year-in-a-row that we are going for this Expo and it will be a huge opportunity for our business sector to tap the huge market in the Philippines,” said Sriyal Dissanayake, Honorary Consul for the Philippines in Sri Lanka. The annual national conference of the Philippines largest business organisation – the Philippine Chamber of Commerce Industry (PCCI) – will take on added significance this year with the country’s controversial president Rodrigo R. Duterte having confirmed that he will deliver the keynote address.
“The presence of the president of the Philippines will add weight to the conference which is expected to be attended by more than 500 delegates. Sri Lanka hasn’t tapped the potential that is there in the Philippines and I’m sure this will lead the way,” Mr. Dissanayake pointed out. The local delegation will be led by Mr. Dissanayake and include members from the Sri Lanka-Philippines Business Council as well as other representatives from airlines, shipping and construction sectors. Trade between Sri Lanka and the Philippines is negligible but with a population of 120 million there is a strong belief that the South East Asian country can become a key partner.
The Philippines is increasingly becoming a popular destination for local corporates who take their employees on incentive holidays. Last year more than 3,000 Sri Lankans visited the country. ”Two of the biggest areas for trade are tea and tourism. Coffee is the main brew of the Filipino people but tea is making huge strides and has a lot of potential similarly tourism. We issue around 500 visas a month. This is also for employment as we have a number of people from the IT sector going there,” Mr. Dissanayake added.