Sri Lanka: Your Vital Island – A Gateway to Businesses Explored in Antwerp, Belgium

Sri Lanka Embassy in Brussels presented Sri Lanka’s notable economic recovery and emerging opportunities in trade, investment, and tourism to over 35 prominent representatives from the Belgian private sector on 05 December in Antwerp region in Belgium.

Ms. Thavishya Mullegamgoda, the Embassy’s Minister Commercial, in her presentation reasoned out “Why Sri Lanka is a Vital Island” for foreign partners. She presented strengths and opportunities in Sri Lanka’s trade, investment, and tourism spheres while highlighting potential areas for mutual collaborations with the Belgian private sector. She emphasized the importance of strategic location of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean and Antwerp in the Western Europe and invited Antwerp’s business community to explore Sri Lanka as a destination for expanding economic engagements.

In her remarks, Sri Lanka Hony. Consul, Ms. Monique De Deker Deprez highlighted Sri Lanka’s potential in various sectors that might be interesting to Belgian companies to explore. She elaborated her own recent experiences in Sri Lanka including to her factory visits to a few Belgian companies that have invested in Sri Lanka.

The event drew participation from several notable institutions in the Flemish region of Belgium, including the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, the City of Antwerp, Flanders Investment and Trade, Voka Chamber of Commerce in Antwerp. Entrepreneurs representing a cross-sector including diamond, tea, apparel, tourism, cigars, logistics, business consultancy, lifestyle projects, renewable energy, and import-export services also joined the event, alongside Belgian journalists and other stakeholders.

Antwerp, renowned as one of the world’s most significant seaports, a hub of the global diamond trade and one of the most important commercial cities in Belgium. Following the success of this event, the Embassy aims to organize more sector-specific business promotional events in Antwerp and the Flanders region in future.

The event was organized with the support of economic diplomacy programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka.