Ayubowan India!
- Biggest contingent of top Indian corporate leaders in town for the first ever bilateral CEOs Forum and other events as mega India Show kicks off today with Commerce Minister Sharma as Chief Guest
By Nisthar Cassim
Indian business leaders are rushing to Sri Lanka as the giant neighbour kicks off today what can be described as its biggest effort to forge closer ties with post-war rebounding Sri Lanka.
The Indian push Today
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Over 20 top names in Indian private sector will be in the country for discussions with Lankan counterparts whilst separately over 100 companies will showcase their products and services at the mega three-day India Show at the BMICH. India is Sri Lanka's biggest trading partner with a value of $ 4.8 billion.
India’s Commerce, Industry and Textile Minister Anand Sharma who arrived yesterday will ceremoniously open the exhibition in addition to holding several bilateral meetings including with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and attending private sector forums.
Apart from the exhibition, the key event is the first ever Indo-Lanka CEO’s Forum on Saturday to which top Indian business leaders are attending. Some of them will be flying in their private jets and take off tomorrow itself. The establishment of CEO’s Forum was part of the Joint Declaration issued during the State Visit of President Rajapaksa to India in June 2010.
The concurrent events that will be held during the ‘India Show’ in Colombo includes: three days exhibition, India-Sri Lanka Business Seminar, one to one business meetings, high level CEOs / business delegation, food festival by the Taj Group, wine festival by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and cultural evening by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).
Bharti Airtel Ltd. Chairman and Managing Director Sunil Bharti Mittal will lead the 11-member Indian delegation for bilateral CEO forum on Saturday whilst the 12-member Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) delegation will be led by Nicco Corporation Ltd. Chairman Rajive Kaul.
"The visit of Minister Sharma, in connection with the ‘India Show’, B-2-B meetings and the launch of ‘India-Sri Lanka CEOs Forum’ will significantly contribute to a closer economic relationship between India and Sri Lanka," the Indian High Commission said yesterday.
The other members of the Indian CEOs delegation are Ashok Leyland Managing Director Vinod Dasari, NTPC Chairman Arup Roy Choudhury, Suzlon Energy Ltd. Chairman and Managing Director Tulsi Tant, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group Chairperson Jyotsna Suri, Jubilant Life Sciences Co-Chairman and Managing Director Hari Bhartia, Punj Lloyd Chairman Atul Punj, State Bank of India Managing Director (IB) Hemant G. Contractor, TVS Motor Company Chairman and Managing Director Venu Srinivasan, Lanka Indian Oil Corporation S. Dakwale and Taj Group Upper Upscale Hotels Chief Operating Officer Veervijay Singh.
The CII's CEO delegation includes Ashok Leyland Executive Vice-Chairman R. Seshasayee; CII Director-General Chandrajit Banerjee; Taylor Rubber Private Ltd. Managing Director T. T. Ashok; Blue Star Ltd. Executive Vice-Chairman Suneel M. Advani; Shasun Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Managing Director S. Abhaya Kumar; Ennore Coke Ltd. Whole-time Director and President Ganesan Natarajan and IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd. Managing Director K. Ramchand.
Today’s inauguration of India Show will be by visiting Minister Sharma, along with Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa, Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen and Senior Minister of International Monetary Cooperation Sarath Amunugama.
Titled ‘India Show – Land of Limitless Opportunities’ is being organised by the CII in partnership with the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and will go on until Sunday at the BMICH.
The ‘India Show’ is supported by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, High Commission of India and India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF).
The conference on ‘Doubling Indo-Lanka Bilateral Trade and Investment within Five Years’ is organised by CII and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce who have also arranged B2B meetings separately.
The ‘India Show’ is being held in Colombo with the objective of promoting two-way flow of goods and services between Indian and Sri Lanka, providing a platform for Indian companies to showcase their strengths and capabilities, encouraging Indian investment in Sri Lanka as well as to provide opportunities to the Sri Lankan companies to build business partnerships with Indian companies.
The ‘India Show’, with a participation of over 108 companies will showcase Indian innovations and manufacturing prowess on a wide range of products and services which includes; automobile, engineering, infrastructure, tourism, food processing, information and communication technology, financial services, pharmaceuticals, handloom and handicrafts, education and many more. This strong participation reflects the keen desire of Indian industry to partner in Sri Lanka’s economic growth and development.
During his visit Minister Sharma will call on President Rajapaksa and will have meetings with Minister G.L. Peiris, Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Minister Bathiudeen and Senior Minister Amunugama.
India and Sri Lanka enjoy a growing and vibrant trade and investment engagement in the overall context of warm and friendly relations between the two countries. Bilateral trade has expanded by a multiple of eight since the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was signed and reached approximately US$ 5 billion in FY 2011-12. Sri Lanka is India’s largest trade partner in SAARC; India in turn is Sri Lanka’s largest trade partner worldwide. Both countries have undertaken investments in each other and Indian companies have established a strong investment footprint in Sri Lanka with cumulative FDI approvals of over $700 million since 2003.
