Japan announced
yesterday that steps would take to improve its long-standing bilateral
relations with Sri Lanka further. The visiting Japanese Minister of State for
Regional Revitalization. Kozo Yamamoto, gave this assurance when he delivered a
courtesy call at the Presidential Secretariat to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
"Sri Lanka
has a government that is reliable and balanced. The economy is also making progress.
In this perspective, a favorable investment environment for Japanese shareholders
has established in Sri Lanka," the Minister of State said, according to a
statement issued by the President's media.
"As a
country that has conquered industries such as security, and high-quality public
services development among many other areas, Japan has a lot to give to Sri
Lanka," Yamamoto said. President Rajapaksa explained that Sri Lanka's
growth rate, which in 2014 was around 7 percent, has since declined, and the most
significant challenge before him is to revive the economy.
The President
also called on Japanese Minister Yamamoto to invest in high-tech assembly
plants. Minister Yamamoto responded positively and promised to advance Sri
Lanka within the business community in Japan.
Sri Lanka and
Japan have discussed the commitment to further strengthen bilateral cooperation
between the two countries via vital sectors of economic development. Some of
the critical areas for such cooperation have identified as,
- Information technology (IT),
- Harbor infrastructure,
- Eastern Container Terminal
(ECT) Development,
- Highways and Freeways,
- Agriculture,
- Digitalization of television
transmission,
- Catastrophe prevention, and
- Defense cooperation.
“Our country is small,
but we have a talented, knowledgeable, and capable workforce. I anticipate building
an employment-oriented, technology-driven financial system. We pursue Japan’s aid
to reach that goal,” President Rajapaksa has stated. The President has further
noted that he was open to foreign investments from all nations, especially the
countries from surrounding regions, such as China, Japan, India, South Korea,
Australia, and Singapore.
OSL Take: The
commitment of the Japanese government to further strengthen its bilateral
dealings with Sri Lanka is a positive sign for Japanese businesses to explorebusiness/investment opportunities on the island. Given the economic sectors the
Japanese government has shown interest in investing in, local companies could
look at forming joint ventures/partnerships with Japanese companies to engage
in projects in the relevant sectors.
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