TRAVEL

Belgian week 2010:

Belgian trade delegation here from Nov 22 - 26

by Surekha GALAGODA

A Belgian trade and investment delegation of 40 companies led by Minister of Enterprise and Streamlining Policy of the Belgian Federal Government, Vincent Van Quickenborne, will be in Sri Lanka from November 22-26.

The visit is a result of a joint effort between the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Belgium, the Embassy of Belgium in New Delhi and the Consulate of Belgium in Colombo.

The delegation consists of 40 companies (over 50 persons) in the fields of agro-food, machinery, construction, interior, energy, fisheries, gems, information technology, infrastructure, water supply, financial services, textile, tobacco, tourism investments and various trading companies. Most of them are seeking to do business with Sri Lanka for the first time.

The need to further develop economic cooperation can be clearly felt from both sides.

Projects of several Belgian companies in the health sector, infrastructure, water supply, water sanitation and waste disposal to the value in excess of 50 million Euro have already been received or are in the process to be approved by the Government of Sri Lanka. Many projects are a waiting implementation.

Sri Lanka is at peace and ready for a phase of rapid economic development led by the private sector and strongly supported by the Government which is determined to realise massive infrastructure projects to support its growth. Belgium wanted to be a partner in this development and at the end of September a combined operation was established resulting in the visit of this delegation.

Ambassador of Belgium to Sri Lanka, Jean Deboutte said “This trade mission comes at a most opportune moment.

Belgium is aware of the economic potential of Asia and particularly of South Asia.

The conditions are right to engage in an enhanced cooperation and to maximize the benefits of complementarities between the two economies.

The contacts with Sri Lankan key decision makers in the political and economic field will enlarge and deepen the long standing multi faceted excellent relations between Belgium and Sri Lanka.

Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Belgium, Luxembourg and the EU, Ravinatha Aryasinha said. “At present over 70% of Sri Lanka-Belgium two way trade centres on diamonds. Belgian investment is limited to a handful of products.

The diversity in the sectors represented by the participating delegation is its most significant feature.

A bulk of investors for the first time have chosen to explore investment opportunities in Sri Lanka and import our products notwithstanding the absence of preferential trade with Europe, is indicative of the competitiveness and potential Sri Lanka continues to enjoy in these markets.

Together with Belgian tourist arrivals expected to increase by over 100% by the end of this year, all facets of the Sri Lanka-Belgium relationship are showing great promise.”

Consul for Belgium in Sri Lanka, Pierre Pringiers said that 80 percent of the Belgian economy is based on SMEs and therefore forging partnerships between Belgian and Sri Lanka companies is a good mix. He said that there will be discussions on the development of tourism, sea based tourism, yacht building and charter flights.

He said that 275 people travel every week on the Sri Lankan Airlines direct flight which started recently.

He said that 7-8 very large companies engaged in the construction industry as well as SMEs specialising in different products are interested to find agents or use Sri Lanka as a base to do business in Asia. In addition people who have investments in Sri Lanka are also interested to further their investments.

During their stay in the island the delegation will call on Minister of External Affairs Prof G.L.Peiris, Minister of Economic Development, Basil Rajapaksa, Minister of Industry & Commerce, Rishad Bathiudeen., Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning and Senior Presidential Advisor, Sarath Amunugama.

They will also meet, Governor Central Bank of Sri Lanka Ajith Nivard Cabraal and other senior government officials and attend a briefing at the BOI, as well as a sector specific seminar on construction, interior, infrastructure, harbour and marine development and tourism projects held in collaboration with the Chamber of Construction Industry.

Two match making opportunities are also being organized by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board, as well as by the Benelux Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, for companies interested in meeting Sri Lankan exporters and manufacturers.

The visiting Belgian companies will also have individual B2B meetings.

The program also provides for opportunities for visits to Sri Lankas blue-chip companies, several companies based on Belgian investment, building a future foundation in the frame of sustainable fishing, and touristic exploration & excursions.

Since Belgium is also known for excellent food, the Belgian Week 2010 will have several culinary and gastronomic events.

A Belgian Food Festival with Chef Filip Van de Venster flown in from the gastronomic restaurant ‘Vensterke in Londerzeel’, Belgium will be held from November 20-28 at the Cheers Pub Cinnamon Grand. A Belgian gastronomic dinner is to be held on Wednesday November 24.

Belgium is a Federal Kingdom, the present Sovereign is King Albert II. The country comprises three cultural communities (Dutch-speaking, French-speaking and German-speaking) and three regions, Flanders (population 5.88 million), Wallonia (3.1 million) and Brussels Capital (960,000). Brussels the capital of Belgium is also the capital of Europe and the headquarters of NATO.

The main cities are Brussels, Antwerp, Lige, Charleroi and Ghent.

Belgium has 65.5km of coastline and with three leading seaports it has the biggest concentration of seaports in the world. Antwerp (ranking 5th in the world) and the largest chemical port after Houston, Gent and Zeebrugge. 30,000 ships are loaded and unloaded in Belgian seaports every year.

The city of Antwerp in Flanders is also the world’s leading diamond centre. More than half the total international production of rough and polished, industrial and gem, diamonds pass through this port city, with annual diamond exports reaching up to 8% of Belgium’s total exports. In a square mile close to the city’s main railway station, some 1,500 diamond companies are clustered near four diamond exchanges.

Wallonia or Southern Belgium, has a picturesque landscape with its forests, valleys and hills.

The towns of Lige and Charleroi were cradles of the industrial revolution and continue to be important steel making centres.

Belgium, a highly developed market economy, belongs to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a group of leading industrialised democracies. With a geographic area about equal to that of half of Sri Lanka, and a population of 10.6 million, Belgian per capita GDP ranks among the world’s highest. In 2009, the per capita income (PPP) was $30,100.

The Belgian industrial sector can be compared to a complex processing machine: It imports raw materials and semi-finished goods that are further processed and re-exported.

Except for its coal, which is no longer economical to exploit, Belgium has virtually no natural resources.

Nonetheless, most traditional industrial sectors are represented in the economy, including steel, textiles, refining, chemicals, food processing, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, electronics, and machinery fabrication.

Despite the heavy industrial component, services account for 74.9% of GDP. Agriculture accounts for only 1% of the GDP.

The Consul to Belgium for Sri Lanka, Flanders Investment & Trade, Agence Wallonne l’Exportation et aux Investissements Etrangers, Brussels Export, Brussels Enterprises Commerce and Industry, Belgolux Sri Lanka Business Council in Belgium, the Benelux Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, and Sri Lankan Airlines has supported this endeavour.

PJ organic farming leads to community tourism in Vakarai

People from Vakarai which has arguably one of the best beaches in the world, are the mainstay of PJ Hotel’s Organic Paradise Earth Farm. ‘Thibbatu’ and green gram are cash crops being planted together with cashew, grilisidia, margosa, aloe-vera and coconut to create a balance in these organic farms which do not favour livestock which must ultimately be killed.

“The massive development programs of the government and the magnificent response from not only the on farm staff and their families but also people in the area, government officials and the Army has more than justified our plans here but has also encouraged us to go into other areas and a new field of agriculture, while conceptualising the next generation of tourism projects which is our Chairman Prasanna W. Jayewardene’s special strength”, said Amara Galagoda, spokesperson for the PJ Group. “We are purchasing land in the North, East and Uva provinces with these expansions in mind”, she confirms.

Tension heightens on sea plane operations

by Lalin FERNANDOPULLE

The controversy over the resumption of sea planes in the Negombo lagoon has reached alarming proportions with SriLankan Airlines determined to go ahead with plans while fishermen in the area are up in arms.

SriLankan Airlines sources said the resumption of float planes will not disturb the environment and affect the fisheries sector as safety measures will be taken and flights will be coordinated.

“Fishermen need not panic as the operation of planes will be managed by a professional team and steps will be taken to ensure as there will be no hindrance to fishing and harm to marine life”, sources said.

President, Association of Lagoon Fishery Negombo and Chairman World Fishery Federation, Herman Kumara said despite repeated appeals made to the authorities on the ill effects of the sea plane operation to hatchlings and plants in the lagoon steps have been taken to go ahead with plans.

“Our livelihood will be affected and breeding of fingerlings will be hampered with the operation of planes. Sound and fume emanating from planes will disturb the serene environment”, he said.

Sri Lankan tourism has been planning the resumption of float planes since the dawn of peace last year to boost tourism and create a better transportation sector in the country. Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, Dr. Nalaka Godahewa said there should be effective transportation to develop tourism and generate revenue to the economy.

“Domestic flights will help address shortcomings in transportation and attract foreigners to the country. Tourism is on the upward move and a sound transportation network will be a turbo boost to tourism”, he said.

“Fishermen are in no way against promoting tourism but it should be done in a proper way with the least harm to livelihood and the environment” Fisheries Association head said.

The fishermen in Negombo held its third protest at Katunayake last Wednesday calling upon the authorities to put a halt on the operation of sea planes and save the fishermen from the predicament.

Sea planes are operated world over to cut time on domestic transportation and promote tourism.

The Negombo lagoon has been a traditional home for fishing to people in the area for centuries. Disturbance to livelihood will affect the entire social fabric causing unrest among people, fisheries societies said.

Sri Lanka’s tourism has recorded a remarkable growth this year on a month-on-month basis and arrivals this year are expected to reach around 600,000.

Cash prizes for Commercial Bank’s ‘e-Exchange’ recipients

This festive season, the Commercial Bank will reward 100 people with cash prizes totalling Rs. 2.5 million for using the Bank’s super-convenient ‘e-Exchange’ money transfer service. One hundred recipients of remittances via this popular Instant Money Transfer Service will win Rs. 25,000 each under this promotion.

Beneficiaries of remittances made between November 15 and January 15 will automatically go into a grand draw which will be conducted at the end of the promotion period, the Bank said. Commercial Bank also presented Rs. 2.5 million in cash to winners of an e-Exchange promotion conducted during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year season this year.

“The extensive islandwide network of Commercial Bank branches, a significant number of which are open even on public, bank and mercantile holidays, has made e-Exchange a preferred choice for recipients of foreign remittances,” Commercial Bank’s Senior Manager for e-Banking Pradeep Banduwansa said.

Dankotuwa produces ERI trophies for Windies tour

Dankotuwa Porcelain PLC produced the three ERI trophies for the West Indies - Sri Lanka cricket series in porcelain with gold and platinum coating. This is believed to be the first time that a trophy has been produced in porcelain.

The team that designed and made the trophy with the trophy in the foreground. Standing from left: Prasanna, Chaminda, Lalith, Vinoba, Somaratna, Priyantha, Aruna, Ajantha and Akila. Seated from left: Grushani, Dr. Farook, Attygalle and Yasasi.

“The challenge to produce a trophy in porcelain was given by our new parent company ERI a few days ago. We took up the challenge. A team from design, modelling, casting, forming, firing, glazing, printing and decoration departments led by Dr. Farook, GM (Technical), produced the result” said Sunil G. Wijesinha, Chairman of the Company.

Wijesinha who was at the launch of the test trophy and press conference at Cinnamon Grand said the best compliment was from the West Indies captain who commented that it was a “beautiful trophy”.

Porcelain has to go through four firings apart from many drying stages. In making porcelain cast items the first step is the design which requires many calculations since the product shrinks in the second firing at over 1,300 degrees celsius for over 28 hours. The designers also have to take into consideration the vulnerable areas that may warp during firing.When the design is completed a mould is made after which the item is cast, dried and then “biscuit” fired to make it hard and porous. Glazing is the next step where it is immersed in a glaze solution. The glost firing is the next and most important stage after which it is either covered by a specially printed decal or in this case manually coated with special 24 carat gold and platinum. Finally it is once again fired to fix the colours and the precious metals. In this case two firings were necessary. “We were able to create this wonderful piece of art due to the creativity of staff, the passion to produce something unique and our wonderful team spirit” said Dr Farook. Unlike metal trophies this trophy needs very little care since the gold will not tarnish.

It only needs a cleaning with a soft cloth once in a while.

Dankotuwa specialises in custom made products and caters to niche markets and is not a volume player in the porcelain tableware business.

Belgian travel writers arrive

A group of 14 travel writers from Belgium arrived recently on a charter flight from Belgium. Their tour was arranged by tour operators Thomas Cook/Neckermann whose local Resident Manager, Marinne Kopanski and the representatives of Walkers Tours, the local agents met them on arrival.

Pic: Kumarasiri Prasad, Airport Cor