COLOMBO: The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Ha Noi facilitated a 20-member Vietnamese business delegation to visit Sri Lanka last week. This business interaction was arranged consequent to the visit by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to Viet Nam in April this year, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said. At the bilateral talks held between the two Prime Ministers both dignitaries agreed to achieve US dollars one billion annual bilateral trade within the next few years. The business delegation was led by Deputy Director General, Ministry of Industry & Trade of Viet Nam Do Huu Huy. It was consisted of members from large Vietnamese conglomerates from various fields such as agriculture, power generation, food and beverage, electrical and electronic products, dairy products and other major industries.
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce functioned as the local host of the visiting delegation by organizing briefing sessions in Colombo. Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Viet Nam Hasanthi Dessanayake, and Ambassador of Viet Nam to Sri Lanka Phan Kieu Thu were special guests at the sessions, where a presentation was made on “Opportunities in Sri Lanka for Trade”. Prior to the visit of this high level business delegation, the National Television of Viet Nam, Nhan Dan TV Channel sent a media crew to Sri Lanka from 3rd to 10th August 2017 with the intention of producing a documentary on the present dynamics in Sri Lanka’s investment, business and tourism environment. The media team conducted an interview with President Maithripala Sirisena on the rapidly expanding bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Viet Nam.