Development programs bolster Lanka’s image in the US - Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya

By P. Krishnaswamy

Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the US and Mexico Jaliya C. Wickramasuriya told the Sunday Observer, in an interview in Colombo, that the Embassy in Washington DC is tirelessly working on projecting Sri Lanka's true picture in the spheres of economic development, reconciliation, rehabilitation and redevelopment. He elaborated on the trade ties between the two countries and the programs being launched to counter sinister disinformation campaigns of people with their own agendas guided by ulterior motives. He explained the Embassy's trade promotional activities and the programs to educate the Lankan diaspora on the true picture of Sri Lanka as a true pluralistic society. Sri Lanka is gaining global recognition in spite of the baseless rumours spread by elements and this is due to the vision of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his unwavering implementation of programs under the Mahinda Chinthana policies for the welfare of the people and the nation is also being apprised at appropriate fora, he said.

Excerpts of the interview:

Q: How have the Sri Lanka - US relationship and trade ties fared in 2012?

A: Contacts between the people of US and Sri Lanka are more than two centuries old. Sri Lanka has been a long-standing friend of the US, holding deeply shared values and democratic traditions. In today’s context, one of our major aims is to project Sri Lanka’s true picture in the sphere of economic development, reconciliation, rehabilitation and redevelopment. The US is Sri Lanka’s largest export market with an annual turnover of US$ 2.1 billion. In terms of Foreign Direct Investment and tourism as well, the US is becoming a very important partner for Sri Lanka.

It is the largest single export destination for Sri Lankan goods, with over 20 percent of our exports. Our exports to the US demonstrated an impressive growth of 7.7 percent up to October 2012. According to the latest trade statistics, our exports to the US up to October 2012 amounted to US$ 1.8 billion. I am optimistic that the figure for 2012 would have the same momentum of growth. This is vital, particularly at a time when Sri Lanka’s export performance faced daunting challenges in 2012.

Q: After the war against terrorism, Sri Lanka is geared to boost its image to the global arena. How successful are you in promoting Sri Lanka in the US?

A: In the post-conflict phase, we have been projecting to US audiences Sri Lanka’s remarkable reconciliation process. The Embassy has projected Sri Lanka’s experience as a “best practice” for the humane reintegration of combatants following the conflict. Through the outreach activities of the Embassy, we have projected Sri Lanka’s defeat of terrorism and quest for a unified pluralistic country.

With the dawn of peace, many opportunities emerged for international business in Sri Lanka. The Embassy harnessed this conducive climate to showcase real business opportunities in Sri Lanka among US corporate leaders and captains of industry. That’s something that we pushed for in collaboration with the Office of the US Trade Representative and the US Department of Commerce. Collectively, we have sponsored and facilitated several investment conferences for US businesses interested in Sri Lanka.

These highly productive networking sessions held both in Sri Lanka and in the US have generated the much needed enthusiasm. Now we are starting to see the fruits of these endeavours, as some large American hotel companies, heavy equipment operators, energy companies and aircraft manufacturers are keen to do business in Sri Lanka.

Q: What kind of US/Sri Lanka trade boost are we involved in lately?

A: Let me give some specific details which I believe are noteworthy. The Embassy arranged a number of business delegation visits from USA to Sri Lanka in association with the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).

Special business networking sessions and one-to-one meetings were also held in Colombo, promoting Private – Public Partnership between corporate leaders and captains of industry of the two countries. This included US corporate leaders from Boeing, GE, John Caterpillar, Textron, EMD, John Deer, Starwood, Marriott International and Coca Cola.

A number of individual investor visits were also facilitated. These visits have brought immense benefits to Sri Lanka with large-scale investments, including in the tourism sector. I am pleased to say that Marriott International has already commenced hotel projects in Sri Lanka and so has Hyatt while Starwood Group is negotiating an investment for establishing a Sheraton brand hotel in Colombo.

With regard to trade, efforts are under way to establish a US – Sri Lanka Business Council to promote an increased economic and financial relationship to provide a platform for Sri Lanka and the US to discuss their favourable business and investment climates. In terms of trade, Sri Lanka enjoys a favourable balance of trade with the US. In 2011 the balance of trade between the US and Sri Lanka was US$1.8 billion while exports and imports from the US amounted to US$ 2.14 billion and US$ 0.3 billion respectively. In 2012, the US can be considered as the only major export market that performed outstandingly with US$ 1.8 billion from January to October 2012.

Sri Lanka’s export basket to the US is very diverse with the major concentration being apparel products. By looking at recent trade data, it is apparent that ready-made garments continue to contribute 60 percent of the export revenue from USA. The accompanying graph demonstrates all other products that feature prominently in our export basket to USA.

I salute Sri Lanka's apparel industry for maintaining its predominance in the US market with quality products manufactured under the highest ethical labour conditions in a green environment. Our apparel industry is regarded as total solution providers in the supply chain and they have earned well-deserved respect among US importers as highly dependable and trouble-free partners, being more than mere suppliers.

The Embassy has always partnered the Export Development Board and Sri Lanka's apparel industry at the Global Sourcing Forum organised by the Women Wear Daily (WWD) a prestigious apparel industry magazine in New York. The event last held in October 2012 was a great success in highlighting the salient features of Sri Lanka’s apparel industry as Garments without Guilt and projecting Sri Lanka as the world’s number one ethical sourcing destination for apparels.

Q: What about participation at trade fairs?

A: The Embassy continues to facilitate the participation of Sri Lankan exporters, Government agencies such as the Sri Lanka Export Development Board, National Gem and Jewellery Authority and Sri Lanka Tea Board at trade fairs and events in the US. Assistance is also extended in arranging Sri Lanka pavilions at Fine Food Show, ICT, Food Expo and the Las Vegas Gem Show.

We should do more in this area as I consider trade fairs an effective marketing tool in penetrating overseas markets. US fairs are very important as they cover the entire region in North America and South America; I mean the Latin American and Caribbean countries as well. I invite Sri Lankan exporters to consider these options seriously.

The Embassy in association with the Sri Lanka Tea Board has embarked on another initiative to aggressively promote Ceylon Tea in the US market. Although the US is the world’s second largest importer of tea, Ceylon Tea constitutes a small portion i.e. three percent of the total imports of tea into the US market. Although we are gaining an incremental growth in this vital sector, a more aggressive marketing approach is a must. Keeping the momentum generated by Sri Lanka’s participation at the intercessional meetings of United Nations' FAO Intergovernmental Group (IGG) on Tea hosted by the US Tea Council in Washington DC in September 2012, the Embassy in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Tea Board organised a Business Forum on Ceylon Tea – Sri Lanka’s Gift to the World at the Washington Hilton on September 20.

The Embassy attracted leading importers of tea, media and research personnel for this well-attended business forum. To identify each other’s potential as partners of the tea industry, the Embassy has also initiated a media campaign to popularise Ceylon Tea in the US market. Effective and regular participation at trade fairs is planned and the Embassy, in coordination with the Sri Lanka Tea Board will organise a Ceylon Tea pavilion in the Fancy Food Show to be held in New York in July.

The Embassy in association with the Export Development Board and the Department of Commerce was proactive in taking concerted action to inform the latest regulatory requirements under the US Food Safety Modernisation Act. Under this new Act, it was mandatory to renew the registration with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before December 31, 2012. This timely action by the Embassy benefited the Sri Lankan food exporters to the US market.

Q: Although EU GSP Plus was removed, how is it that the GSP with the US continues?

A: At the outset, I must categorically say the EU GSP Plus and US GSP program are totally different schemes. The main difference is that the US GSP does not cover apparel products. However, under the US GSP scheme, Sri Lanka can export nearly 4,000 products to the US on a duty-free basis. This is extremely important to Sri Lanka.

At one point, based on a labour petition against Sri Lanka, the US authorities conducted a review of Sri Lanka’s GSP eligibility. The Embassy intervened proactively to apprise the US authorities regarding current labour practices in Sri Lanka to secure duty-free benefits for eligible products from Sri Lanka in consultation with all stakeholders.

As a result of Sri Lanka’s proactive engagement with the US authorities, the US government formally closed the GSP Worker Rights review of Sri Lanka without any change to Sri Lanka’s GSP trade benefits in June 2012. This is a tremendous achievement for Sri Lanka and ensured that Lankan exporters would continue to benefit with duty-free access for GSP eligible products to the US market.

It is pertinent to say that Sri Lanka was the only country to achieve this status in the recent past. The US Trade Representative (USTR) , Ambassador Ron Kirk, while announcing the closure of the petition, said, “The closure of the GSP country practice review of Sri Lanka was based on the Sri Lankan government’s noteworthy efforts over the past few years to address the worker rights issues outlined in the GSP petition”. This significant achievement is a clear testimony to indicate Sri Lanka’s commitment to ensure improved worker rights.

As indicated, duty-free access under the US GSP program is extremely vital for Lankan exporters. The total value of Sri Lankan exports to the US under the GSP program amounted to US$ 135 million in 2011 and US$ 133 million up to October 2012. This is a clear illustration of the growth potential for Sri Lankan exports under the US GSP.

As the Ambassador of Sri Lanka, I am happy that this vital announcement came at a significant time when Sri Lanka and the US have embarked on a journey to further consolidate our multi-faceted relationship. I must thank US officials for their understanding and cooperation particularly the officials of the office of USTR. Similarly, I acknowledge the significant contribution made by the line Ministries in Sri Lanka which include the Ministry of Labour, Industry and Commerce and External Affairs, the Department of Commerce and the Board of Investment.

Q: What kind of revenue have we made from US trade in 2012 compared to 2011?

A: With regard to trade, Sri Lanka always enjoys a favourable balance of trade with the US. In 2011 the balance of trade between the US and Sri Lanka was US$ 1.8 billion while exports and imports from the US amounted to US$ 2.14 billion and US$ 0.3 billion respectively. In 2012, the US can be considered the only major export market that performed outstandingly with US$ 1.8 billion from January to October 2012.

Q: A common issue discussed by the US State Department about doing business in Sri Lanka is that it's not a friendly atmosphere as there are issues pertaining to getting approval. Have you looked into it?

A: At the outset, I must emphasise that the Embassy has an excellent working relationship with the US State Department. The US State Department is a vast institution and we have developed a very good understanding with the numerous sections of the State Department. With their assistance we have achieved and resolved many issues pertaining to Sri Lanka.

As an example, effective representations made to the State Department by the Embassy, resulted in the US authorities lifting the adverse travel advisory on Sri Lanka. I must also stress that if not for the assistance of the State Department, the Embassy would not have been able to successfully convince the US authorities to remove Sri Lankan ports from the list of High Risk Ports as declared by the US Coast Guard.

There may be different perceptions on the business environment of Sri Lanka. What is important are the independent international indexes which speak on Sri Lanka’s continuous improvements on the business environment and its competitiveness, I always highlight how Sri Lanka’s position has improved significantly in the international arena in recent years.

Human development, as shown by the UNDP-compiled Human Development Index (HDI), is the highest in the South Asian region, ranking at 97 out of 187 countries.

As per the Doing Business Index of the World Bank and the IMF, Sri Lanka has ranked highest in the region at 81 in 2013, up from 89 in 2012. Given the emphasis placed by the Government to develop the business environment in the country, we are confident that Sri Lanka will reach great heights in this ranking in the near future.

All other internationally comparable indicators such as Index of Economic Freedom (ranked 97 compared to 111 in 2009), Corruption Perception Index (ranked 79 in 2012 compared to 97 in 2009), and Global Competitiveness Index (ranked 68 in 2012 compared to 79 in 2009) show rapid improvement.

Sri Lanka has been in the international capital market by issuing sovereign bonds since 2007, attracting an increasing number of global investors.

The sovereign bond issue in 2012 was very successful, the one billion bond being oversubscribed by 10.5 times. Over 400 investors participated and the coupon was the lowest at 5.875 percent. The yield rates of all bonds have been coming down showing, confidence of investors on Lanka's economy.

Even with heightened global uncertainties, Sri Lanka maintained sovereign ratings assigned by all major rating agencies.

The World Justice Project, an independent non-profit organisation based in Washington DC, recently ranked Sri Lanka first in South Asia in six of eight categories of the 2012-2013 Rule of Law Index. Sri Lanka ranked first in the region for absence of corruption, fundamental rights, open government, regulatory enforcement, civil justice and criminal justice. (Sri Lanka ranked second in South Asia for limited government powers, and third in South Asia for order and security.)

The World Justice Project's Rule of Law Index covers 97 countries. Over 97,000 people and more than 2,500 experts around the world participated in this project.

These international indicators are a good testimony to understand Sri Lanka’s due place.

Q: What are the common issues you see US businesses come up with in Sri Lanka? What are the merits and demerits they confided to you about doing business in Sri Lanka?

A: If I give my candid opinion, I must say that US investors whom I have met after their visits to Sri Lanka are very positive. Their understanding is very much in line with international indicators which I highlighted previously. However, I must concede that there are a few areas in which we should make some improvements.

Environment assessment clearance and approvals in the hands of local authorities need fast-tracking. At the same time, from a country perspective, we must always look into proper environmental impact assessment. From the feedback I get, it is encouraging to note that in terms of customs procedures, EPF/ETF contributions and tax administration, Sri Lanka is far ahead of its regional peers.

Q: If there are areas that need to improve, what are those and are you working on those areas, so that Sri Lanka can boost its trade by exports to the US?

A: The approach we should adopt in regard to this important question is to have a clearly defined Nation Brand for Sri Lanka. If I may further elaborate, a clearly defined Nation Brand is imperative so that global perceptions of a country including its goals, policy and achievements are understood by stakeholders around the world which includes our largest single export market, the US.

The Nation Brand is not simply a slogan or ad campaign, but is a way to communicate effectively the tremendous potential that we in Sri Lanka offer to the world. How I envision the National Brand is to achieve the following key objectives i.e. promoting the export of Sri Lanka’s products and services, promoting Sri Lanka as an international investment destination, and promoting inbound tourism to Sri Lanka. In short, the objective of Nation Branding is to promote the economy, tourism and the international status of Sri Lanka.

In promoting Sri Lanka’s “soft power” such as trade, investment, tourism and culture, we need to effectively coordinate the strategy which should be formulated collectively through an inter-agency mechanism whereby Sri Lanka Tourism, Board of Investment, Sri Lanka Tea Board, Export Development Board, Gem and Jewellery Authority, Sri Lanka Handicraft Board and SriLankan Airlines work in a coordinated manner under the Nation Brand.

Q: Do we have a real value added service to promote tourism in USA or do you think we need to improve the infrastructure?

A: USA is among the first 10 sources of origin of tourists to Sri Lanka. Compared to 2011, the arrival of US tourists to Sri Lanka in 2012 was indeed very impressive. Up to November 2012, US tourist arrivals numbered 26,251. This shows a 25 percent increase compared to the same period in 2011.

These achievements are not in isolation. We have worked hard to promote Sri Lanka as a preferred destination for US travellers. I am pleased to state that Sri Lanka Tourism recognised the Embassy’s outstanding achievements in its tourism promotional activities in USA at the Tourism Award Ceremony in August 2012.

Our short-term objective is to increase this number to 45,000 within the next three years while expecting, in the long term, arrivals of 100,000 by 2017.

The Embassy plans to achieve these objectives by adopting the following measures:

* Building awareness of Sri Lanka as a leisure, sports, adventures, eco-tourism and business travel destination to meet the Government’s goal of 2.5 million tourists by 2016;

* Generating and continuing positive media coverage through electronic, print and social media, positioning Sri Lanka as the world’s most treasured island;

* Combating negative perceptions and impediments to travel.

The Embassy has undertaken a series of well-coordinated events to promote Sri Lanka. It is imperative for us to inform US visitors what they could expect by visiting Sri Lanka. I always believe that distance is not the only reason that reflects a low turnout of US tourists to Sri Lanka. It is incumbent upon us to showcase what Sri Lanka could offer to a foreign tourist. Young US tourists are very adventurous. They need to go to places which can offer special attractions.

For example, with Arugam Bay emerging as one of the world’s premier surfing destinations, more surfers consider Sri Lanka. Moreover, wildlife, our elephant orphanage, heritage sites and beautiful beaches are universally known. Promoting medical tourism which would include Ayurvedic treatments could also be a consideration to attract more tourists to Sri Lanka.

In my view, disseminating information on these aspects could be the best method in attracting US tourists to Sri Lanka. I am happy we have been successful in this regard.

While attracting tourists to Sri Lanka, we are also encouraging US investors to actively engage in the Sri Lankan leisure industry. The Marriott International and Starwood Hotels and Resorts are a testimony to this endeavour.

Let me now briefly touch on what we have done recently to promote tourism in USA. Under the image building program, the website www.slembssyusa.org was fully restructured with a theme highlighting the beauty and tourist attractions of Sri Lanka.

The flash movie opens with the homepage which shows a number of high quality images of Sri Lanka, convincing the viewers to choose Sri Lanka as an attractive destination to travel.

We receive very encouraging responses from our viewers. Search Engine Optimisation was done applying key terms related to tourism and integrating the social media network, linking tourism-related sites.

To achieve the maximum dissemination of all positive news about Sri Lanka, the Embassy has established itself profoundly in all major social media platforms as follows:

Facebook page – (http://www.facebook.com/slembassyusa) has over 2,000 weekly reach for all its posts that has the potential to reach over 175,000 Facebook users. All tourism promotional news/videos/pictures about Sri Lanka published in local and international media are posted to the page daily.

The page has been designed as a hub to access other social media platforms of the embassy – You Tube, Twitter, Flicker and Pinterest.

The Embassy has a dedicated You Tube channel for travel and tourism promotion of Sri Lanka titled Wonder of Asia. (http://www.youtube.com/wonderofasia). This channel was launched recently as an internet video resource for the promotion of Sri Lanka's travel trade.

Our Embassy utilises a list hosting service – Vertical Response to channel and distribute its messages to targeted audiences. It also maintains a database of over 200,000 contacts categorised into a number of lists such as International Media, Travel Writers, Sri Lanka Media and Sri Lanka Community on this list hosting account.

We also generate a fair amount of press releases, publications, images, videos, and webcasts and coordinate special tourism promotional publications by reputed US media organisations such as National Geographic, New York Times and USA Today which are sent regularly to specific audiences via email in a highly presentable and professional format.

Among the many promotional activities, our endeavour to publish a quarterly magazine Focus Sri Lanka has also received very positive reviews. The next issue is expected in the first quarter of 2013.

The Embassy has produced two promotional videos. The second edition was released in 2012. More than 100,000 copies have already been distributed to the US public.

Further, the Embassy organised a Sri Lanka Booth and Sri Lanka Food demonstration at the Travel and Adventure Show, held at the Washington Convention Center. The New York Times Travel Show is another significant event that Sri Lanka regularly participates in.

As a part of the Embassy’s ongoing efforts in promoting Sri Lanka tourism, the Embassy organised a Sri Lankan Cultural Extravaganza at the Headquarters of the IMF and the World Bank amidst a large and representative international gathering.

With the objective of generating the support of the US media, the Embassy regularly hosts receptions for leading travel writers and editors at the Ambassador’s Residence. The guests include travel writers and editors from prestigious newspapers, journals and magazines in the US. This has enabled us to maintain close and cordial relations with media professionals. This continuous and effective engagement has resulted in a positive portrayal of Sri Lanka in the US.

The Embassy continues to organise the Signature Tour with the Ambassador as an innovative tool to promote Sri Lanka. The Embassy identifies key personnel for this special tour to Sri Lanka who in turn could carry out the role of ambassadors for Sri Lanka tourism.

Another important element of the Embassy’s promotional campaign is education tourism among young children and university students. During the past two years we have facilitated a number of such visits.

Moreover, our continuous participation at the Embassy Chef Challenge, the Embassy Open House - Passport DC, where thousands of American visitors tour the Embassy premises and savour authentic Sri Lankan food and Ceylon Tea have also generated huge interest to visit Sri Lanka.

The Embassy organised the book launch for Sri Lanka and the Kandy Esala Perahera written by well-known US photojournalist, Michael Sanarcki at the Ambassador’s Residence in Washington DC. The event received wide publicity with a large number of guests participating at the dinner reception.

Apart from the above, let me also highlight how we promote Sri Lankan Food in the US. Culinary diplomacy is another area to which we attach high importance. We encouraged the American author of Sri Lankan origin, S.H. Fernando Jr. to publish a book Rice and Curry – Sri Lankan Home Cooking. The book launch took place at the residence of the Ambassador and this event also received good publicity for Sri Lankan food.

The New York Times also carried a review of this book. I am happy to state that many magazines dedicated to the food and beverage industry, websites and blogs carried articles and recipes from the book.

To promote Sri Lankan food among US food professionals, the Embassy arranged Sri Lanka’s participation at the 15th Annual International Conference and Festival – Worlds of Flavour held in November 2012 in Napa Valley, California. This prestigious conference, organised by the Culinary Institute of America, attracted about 1,000 chefs and culinary professionals from around the world. Sri Lanka was invited for this event for the first time.

This shows the extent of our involvement in Sri Lankan food promotions.

Q: US tourists arrivals: Is it improving?

A: USA is among the first 10 sources of origin of tourists to Sri Lanka. Compared to 2011, the arrival of US tourists to Sri Lanka in 2012 was indeed very impressive. Up to November 2012, US tourist arrivals numbered 26,251. This shows a 25 percent increase compared to the same period of 2011.

Q: What about Sri Lankans living in the USA? What are the events you hold in the US to promote Sri Lanka? How big is the population and how is their living conditions?

A: We have about 400,000 Sri Lankans living in the US. This community includes a large number of professionals. Some of them are renowned doctors, engineers, scientists and scholars.

The Sri Lankan community in the US is very active. I am happy they organise community events throughout the year to promote and preserve Sri Lankan culture in association with the Embassy. There are a number of annual religious events, sports festivals, and cultural events organised on a large scale.

The Embassy maintains a close interaction with the community. This is done through a detailed and updated electronic database of Sri Lankans.

The consular section is open for the public from 9.00am – 5.00pm and we maintain a 24-hour hotline to assist any Sri Lankan who needs to contact the Embassy in an emergency, after office hours.

The Embassy reaches out to the community through press releases and important messages are communicated through email to our database.

The Embassy celebrates all major events of the four major religions with the community. In fact, our next major religious celebration is Thai Pongal tomorrow.

Q: What plans do you have as an Ambassador to promote both countries in terms of friendship?

A: We will continue the engagement with key members of the Congress and senior policy makers of the Executive Branch of the US Government as influencers in issues relating to US - Sri Lanka relations. This includes expanding and better leveraging the Congressional Caucus on Sri Lanka and also holding Congressional briefings with members of key Senate and House Committees.

* Promoting Sri Lanka as a destination for Hollywood film makers;

* Identify academic and cultural exchange opportunities and establish endowed chairs at selected US Universities/Think Tanks that focus on US - Sri Lanka affairs;

* Social network platforms to be established to facilitate Diaspora relations;

* Arranging scholarships for Sri Lankan teenage students affected by terrorism in the past. The Embassy was able to secure an annual training program for war-affected teenage children to visit the USA to participate in a Harvard-designed conflict resolution program organised by the Tuesday’s Children, a US-based NGO under its Common Bond Project (PCB).

Tuesday’s Children, a non-profit family service organisation founded by family and friends of the 9/11 victims, was initially established to look into the needs of every family who lost a loved one in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. They later broadened their mission to reach beyond the events of 9/11, to support youth worldwide who have lost a loved one due to terrorism. Sri Lanka participated in this program for the past three consecutive years.