Poland offers opportunities for Lankan entrepreneurs

In a bid to further strengthen economic ties with Sri Lanka, Poland has offered to open its doors for Lankan entrepreneurs to set up industrial ventures as it will provide them with a chance to enter the bigger European Union market.

Poland joined the European Union in 2004 and is presenting itself as an attractive investment destination based on its economic growth and reforms, and position as a supply base to the east Europe, according to Commercial Counsellor Head of Trade and Investment Promotion Section of the Embassy of Poland in New Delhi Dariuz K. Karwowski.

In a recent interview with The Sunday Times FT he said that Poland wants to strengthen its business ties with Sri Lanka in areas such as mining, rail and port infrastructure, auto manufacturing and food processing. Karwowski said that there are many employment opportunities for Sri Lankan skilled workers in Poland but the country has to follow strict immigration and cross border regulations due to the spread of terrorism worldwide.

He added that Poland will explore the possibility of promoting tourism in Sri Lanka as it is another potential sector that can be tapped both for inbound as well as for outbound. Around 3,000 Polish tourists had visited Sri Lanka last year. Karwowski noted that he will arrange a top level business delegation to visit Sri Lanka in September this year to establish contacts with their Sri Lankan counterparts and to enable them to get first hand information on trade and investment opportunities available in the island.
He said that the Polish economy has been growing at a steady pace of over 5% annually driven by FDI and EU development funds as well as remittances from foreign employment.

The balance of trade between Poland and Sri Lanka has been in favour of Sri Lanka and there has been a significant growth in bilateral trade with exports doubling over the last four years from Rs. 1.826 billion in 2004 to Rs. 3.762 billion in 2007. The imports have also been increased from Rs 478 million in 2004 to Rs. 2.657 billion in 2007, he said.

Karwowski pointed out that at present tea remains the dominant export accounting for over 50% of total exports and Poland is the third largest importer in Europe after UK and Germany. In consumption it is second only to UK. Other export lines such as value added coconut and coir products, rubber products, gems and jewellery, textiles and garments and ceramics have found markets in Poland and need to be further developed. Sri Lanka imports iron and steel, rubber and rubber products, hardware, and building materials, paper products, machinery and pharmaceuticals and medical products from Poland.