Sri Lanka is aiming to expand its presence in Qatar, specifically in the Qatari employment market, said the Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen.
Minister Bathiudeen was addressing the ‘Qatari-Sri Lankan Business Forum’ in Doha on 25 October, with the participation of President Maithripala Sirisena, who is currently on an official visit to Arab country.
“We all know that Qatar has a very good potential in the fields of education, technology, and infrastructure. We are looking forward to establishing fruitful business linkages and partnerships with Qatari authorities in all conceivable areas for co-operation,” he said.
“Sri Lanka is aiming to expand its presence in Qatar, specifically in the Qatari employment market. Our professional, skilled and semi-skilled workforce have the capacity to contribute productively to the growth of the Qatari economy.”
He stated that Sri Lanka is also blessed with an expat friendly environment with housing, leisure and schools to accommodate the needs of the business and the entrepreneurial community, which stands out as an added advantage.
“I invite Qatari business personnel and the Sri Lanka Diaspora to acquire the full advantage of this Forum and the opportunities present in my country. Our government has embarked upon a new direction, which also gives an important place to recognizing the ability of the Sri Lankan diaspora to join hands with us in the socio-economic development process.”
“We are not immune to the global fluctuations that affect our market potentials considerably.” The minister said that it is in this context that the island nation is look for new markets and seek to consolidate greater economic relations with friendly nations such as Qartar.
He added: “We are implementing a series of reforms to revitalize Sri Lanka’s export competitiveness including the ease of doing business. It will integrate the country more closely with the region and the rest of the world. The supportive legal reforms to be introduced particularly to Inland Revenue , Foreign Exchange , State Land Bank, Anti Dumping will considerably improve the business-friendly environment. The Qatari market is an important destination for Sri Lanka. There is greater potential available to be tapped by our business sector. It is therefore our hope that this forum will create a platform for networking by both our entrepreneurs and the business personnel to reap the expected targets in our trade and investment relations.”
According to the Department of Commerce of Sri Lanka, Qatar is also an important employment market -Sri Lankans mostly employed in minor job categories.
