Figures with regard to trade relations between Sri Lanka and Germany are quite low, according to Jens Ploetner, German Ambassador in Sri Lanka, who said that there is tremendous potential to get this situation improved.
He was speaking at the AGM of Sri Lanka German Business Council as chief guest held in Colombo this week under the aegis of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.
Mr Ploetner said this situation was due to outside factors and lack of interest due to the political situation in the country. He said that though there is lot of potential for improvements, they are not automatic. Globalization has been intensified for the last 10 years, while other countries have done a good job in creating vibrant economies and in this context Sri Lanka’s economy should sped up.
He said that he is not worried of tourism since, as long as mistakes are not made, tourism would pick up very quickly. He said that businessmen in Sri Lanka are world class and said that the interest of Germans in investing in hotels in the tourism industry in Sri Lanka is extremely high. He said that he was told by some Germans involved in tourism that Germans are now keen to resume their visits to Sri Lanka.
Mr Ploetner said that Sri Lanka could no longer compete with the ‘low labour cost’ tag as there are other countries more competitive like Bangladesh while an interesting phenomenon is that Chinese wages are rising. Therefore Sri Lanka should intensify other areas like the infrastructure and these activities have to be profitable to the community. He said that government has understood the side of infrastructure and the German ambassador said he hoped that at least one highway would come up by next year.
He said that improvements to education are also necessary and the opening of private universities would be a good thing and said that it is pointless to acquire the highest degree, but what is important is the quality of education. He said that the German Government has suggested to the Sri Lankan Education Ministry to intensify cooperation between Germany and Sri Lanka on the academic side.
He said that several high powered German delegations would arrive in Sri Lanka to improve trade and other relations between the two countries.
Michael Elias, Vice President, John Keells Holdings PLC who served as President, German Sri Lanka Business Council for three years handed over the leadership to Mark Francis, Executive Director, Malship Sri Lanka.
Mr Elias said that the business community withstood a mighty impact and survived 30 years of strife. He recalled that planning for the next day was a nightmare but the Sri Lankan business community has been the most resilient in the world. He said that they have constantly been brought to their knees but slowly and surely recovered. |
E-mail
