Sri Lanka can repose its faith in France which will stand by Sri Lanka as it has always done and support Sri Lanka’s initiative to work with French-Indian trade and business chambers to attract French investors to Sri Lanka, said French Ambassador Remi Lambert.
The Ambassador was delivering the keynote speech at the 21st Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka-France Business Council at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce last week.
Discussion between French-Indian trade and commerce chambers are in progress to bring in high-end investors from France to Sri Lanka.
He said as France had helped Sri Lanka in its debt restructuring it will collaborate with Sri Lanka in its journey to achieve economic progress.
France played a key role in supporting Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring efforts. A bilateral agreement was signed between France and Sri Lanka last month to implement the recommendations of a previous MoU.
The MoU was set up with the creditors committee co-chaired by France, India, and Japan and including the Paris Club creditors. The agreement
Rescheduled a debt of 390 million Euros until 2042 with a grace period and a capped interest rate.
Stressing the importance of the continuity of the GSP Plus trade concessions the Ambassador said Sri Lankan business community must seize the opportunity and explore new avenues to make the maximum use of the duty-free concessions to access a vast market such as the EU.
However, the continuity of the GSP Plus scheme, the Ambassador said, will depend on Sri Lanka’s commitment to the social and governance standards.
SLFBC President Andre Fernando said the Council is working on bringing a French sport star to Sri Lanka shortly to promote the destination as a premiere location for travel and tourism.
“We welcome France’s support to transform Colombo as a centre for trade and commerce in the Indian Ocean region, make Sri Lanka a maritime hub and a leading destination for French travelers,” he said.
