The government plans to expand the US trade market, which is $1.74 billion at the moment, by promoting investments in tourism, manufacturing, aviation, construction and IT sectors.
This was revealed at a meeting held with the President Mahinda Rajapaksa and a US top business group led by Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the U.S. Jaliya Wickramasuriya, on Wednessday.
The delegation, which included companies as Boeing, John Deere, Coca Cola, AECOM, Transinnova, AGL Partners and Venture Global Partners, is exploring the possibilities to invest in Sri Lanka.
During the meeting with President Rajapaksa, the business executives pledged their commitment to share findings on the island's emerging trade and investment prospects with their fellow entrepreneurs and the law makers in the US.
The delegates commended the President for his sincere dedication to peace and ethnic reconciliation as well as restoring normalcy at a rapid pace following the conflict, which ended in May 2009. They were also highly impressed with the numerous advances Sri Lanka has been making on both the political and economic fronts under his leadership.
The President thanked the delegation for selecting Sri Lanka as a business destination and noted the importance of American companies coming to Sri Lanka. He told the group that the Sri Lankan government will assist these companies to every possible extent.