Sri Lanka is a gateway to almost 3 billion people in Asia and has a perfect geographical location. According to the Norwegian ambassador in Sri Lanka, Trine Joranli Eskedal the country has great potential to become a leading trade and maritime hub in Asia.
Sri Lanka – NORDIC Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce was the event where the ambassador was addressing the audience.
Mr Eskedal also noted that developing a bilateral partnership with Sri Lanka was one of the top priorities for the country, including business, trade, and investment.
The ambassador added that cooperation between these two countries is strong because it is based on mutual respect and understanding. He also talked about the project called ‘Match-Making Programme’ which is aimed at incentivizing Norwegian businesses to invest and initiate commercial co-operation with Sri Lankan partners.
Fertile ground for future cooperation
One of the main aspects that Norway can help Sri Lanka is the tourism industry. Although there was a massive loss this year due to the pandemic there is no more room to grow. An essential part of the tourism industry is the gambling industry which the Sri Lankan government recently took care of by releasing a new set of laws to better regulate the environment.
However, Norway can support this matter by providing its own system of regulation, but many have said it’s not the best way to revive the industry. Based on the information gathered through the Nye casino website, Norway has quite a controversial gambling landscape. The government essentially owns the whole industry. However, Sri Lanka is quite similar in ways it governs the country so there could be some similarities. But those similarities are also to be addressed soon. Based on the news source here, we can see that Norway is soon to change its gambling laws or at least start thinking about changing them.
The role of the Bilateral Business Councils
The Bilateral Business Councils is considered to be a pivotal part of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, and it has a massive role in promoting international business. The main activity of the Councils is the expansion of business between Sri Lanka and its partner country. The Ceylon Chamber operates 20 Bilateral Business Councils with the prime objectives of promoting trade and investment, joint ventures, services including promotion of tourism between Sri Lanka and the respective countries.
How did Sri Lanka deal with the pandemic?
Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Health has decided to ban all mass events in the island nation as the number of patients with COVID-19 exceeded the 7,000 mark after a new cluster of infections was detected in the suburbs of the capital, Colombo.
The Ministry’s statement clarifies that all celebratory events, conferences, seminars, lectures, exhibitions, concerts, festivals, marches, demonstrations, and any other non-binding meetings are prohibited until further notice, as tests for coronavirus infection of more than 700 people – employees of a garment factory in the village of Minuvangoda – have shown a positive result.
“The occurrence of COVID-19 cases in one area requires vigilance by the public to comply with strict precautions against COVID-19 to limit any further transmission,” the document states.
As of 26 October, the total number of COVID-19 infections in Sri Lanka had plummeted to more than 7 thousand after 707 people in Gampaha District had been confirmed with coronavirus, leading to a decision by the authorities since the evening of 6 October to impose a curfew there. This case was the first cluster of infections detected in one locality of the country in recent months. Police said all movements inside Gampaha are restricted. Local residents were urged not to leave their homes until further notice.