Slovakia to expand trade with Lanka

by Lalin Fernandopulle

The Republic of Slovakia is keen to promote trade and investment with Sri Lanka. The Slovak Republic Ambassador, Marian Tomasik told a business meeting on ‘Slovakia's potential for trade and investments' at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce recenty.

Trade between the two countries is currently around 14.3 m Euros. Tomasik said that economic cooperation between Sri Lanka and Slovakia had grown but could be better.

Slovakia has a host of opportunities for trade and investment. Sri Lanka should explore Slovakia which is a rich country. Slovakia with a 5.5 million population is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It was constituted on January 1, 1993 and obtained European Union membership in 2004. Slovakia joined the Euro zone in 2009 and currently its GDP growth rate is 2.5 percent. Slovakia became a member of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2000 and currently its GDP is 71 b Euros.

“Slovakia is not directly affected by the Euro zone crisis. We are confident that Europe will overcome the crisis soon,” Tomasik said.

Europe is a major market for Slovakia which exported over 80 percent of its goods and imported around 68 percent from the region. Slovakia has a flat tax rate of 19 percent. The country hopes to adjust tax rates which is the lowest in Europe.

“Slovakia has undergone several reforms in education, healthcare, pension and social systems. Our top exports are automobiles, electronics, energy, and IT technology and out major export markets are Germany, France, Russia and Italy,” the Ambassador said.Slovakia is an ideal destination for businesses due to its strategic location and its skilled workforce. Transportation, water supply, sewage treatment, biotechnology, machinery, food and agriculture, logistics, medical tourism, IT technology and Research and Development are some of the key areas for trade and investment between Sri Lanka and Slovakia.