Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade and the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) together with the International Trae Center (ITC) organized this symposium, which was participated by more than 150 public and private sector representatives.

The development of an NES is a central component of the “EU-Sri Lanka Trade Related Assistance: Increasing SMEs trade competitiveness in Regional and EU markets” project, which is funded by the EU and implemented by the ITC.

Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister Wickremsighe said that Sri Lanka has to have a highly competitive social market economy and explained the plans and decisions that are to be taken within the next few months in this regard. Those include setting up of two Task Forces on Foreign Direct Investments and Tourism and introduction of a new set of incentives.

Ambassador Murugue in his remarks said that Sri Lanka has been identified as a “Market of the Future” by Euromonitor and as a key trade partner in South East Asia. The NES will help strengthen Sri Lanka’s ability to maximize the benefits of greater trade exposure in regional and EU markets”, he added.

The symposium unveiled the design process for the NES and provided a platform for public and private stakeholders to discuss their strategic vision for Sri Lanka’s export growth.