New deal to foster Lanka-China trade ties

The People's Government of Yunnan Province of China organised the "Sri Lanka - Yunnan (China) Exchanges and Co-operation Promotion" for the first time in Sri Lanka to improve business relations between Sri Lanka and the Yunnan Province, said Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne. He was addressing the inaugural session at the Hilton Colombo, last week.

The Prime Minister said that to facilitate the delegates interacting with the business community in Sri Lanka, the people's Government of Yunnan Province will host the "Sri Lanka-Yunnan Exchange Co-operation Promotion" followed by four parallel Breakout Business Sessions on Business and Investment, Tourism, Education, Gems and Jewellery (Mining) which will see the participation of a large number of delegates from the Sri Lankan business community. We appreciate the measures taken by the Government of China to encourage and increase our export trade volume. To address the trade imbalance in Sri Lanka during the past three years we have established a sizeable market component in China for her niche products such as tea, gems and jewellery, coir fibre and rubber, the Premier said.

The government of Sri Lanka will enter into four trade agreements with the People's Republic of China as a measure to improve and strengthen the bilateral relations between the two nations. These agreements will focus on agricultural development, higher education, tourism and telecommunication sectors of Sri Lanka.

The agreement concerning the development of agriculture will provide technical assistance and know-how to Sri Lankan experts in the field and also introduce new technology which enhances the productivity of domestic agriculture.