Promoting Vietnam-Sri Lanka investment and trade cooperation

On October 31, in Colombo, the Vietnamese Embassy in Sri Lanka chaired and coordinated with the Mekong Sri Lanka Business Council to organize a workshop with the theme "Business - Investment in Vietnam: Opportunities, challenges and strategies for Sri Lankan businesses".

The workshop was held in both in-person and online formats, chaired by Ambassador Trinh Thi Tam and Chairman of the Mekong Sri Lanka Business Council Nimal Ratnayake.

Also attending were representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, the Vietnam Trade Office in India, Embassy staff, and nearly 100 delegates from associations under the Mekong Sri Lanka Business Council and Sri Lankan businesses interested in the Vietnamese market and the ASEAN region.

Mekong Sri Lanka Business Council Chairman Nimal Ratnayake speaks at the Workshop.

In his opening speech, Chairman Nimal Ratnayake highly appreciated the Embassy's initiative, saying that this is an opportunity for Sri Lankan businesses, especially MBC member businesses, to better understand the Vietnamese market situation, especially regulations and procedures, thereby strengthening their determination to do business and invest in Vietnam.

President Nimal Ratnayake also mentioned the trade turnover target of 1 billion USD agreed upon by both sides in the Joint Statement during the State visit to Vietnam by Sri Lankan President Dissanayake in May 2025, saying that to realize this goal, great efforts and discussions are needed from the governments and businesses of the two countries.

Ambassador Trinh Thi Tam spoke at the workshop.

Ambassador Trinh Thi Tam said that the two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Sri Lanka has recently reached approximately 300 million USD/year, and the South Asian country currently has about 30 investment projects worth more than 42 million USD in Vietnam; she assessed that the two countries still have many opportunities and potentials that have not been exploited or have not been fully exploited.

The Ambassador emphasized that with the good traditional friendship, Vietnam and Sri Lanka have all the favorable conditions to further expand economic , trade and investment cooperation as well as cooperation in other strong areas such as agriculture, fisheries, tourism, education; at the same time, he affirmed that the Embassy is always ready to provide information, connect and support Sri Lankan businesses to seek business and investment opportunities in Vietnam; support in resolving difficulties and problems...

In the presentation, the Embassy introduced in detail the policies to attract investment, reform administrative procedures, digital transformation in the economic sector, and the areas that Vietnam prioritizes for cooperation such as high-tech agriculture, processing industry, textiles, renewable energy, logistics, tourism and information technology; emphasizing that Vietnam has great advantages in terms of geographical location in the center of Southeast Asia, developed seaport infrastructure, competitive labor costs and extensive FTA network, making it an ideal destination for Sri Lankan businesses looking to expand production or participate in the regional supply chain.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Sri Lanka also introduced in detail policies to attract investment, reform administrative procedures, digital transformation in the economic sector, and areas in which Vietnam prioritizes cooperation.

Representatives of the Mekong Business Council Sri Lanka assessed that Vietnam is emerging as an “economic gateway” of the Mekong sub-region, playing an important role in connecting trade between Southeast Asia and South Asia; thereby, recommending Sri Lankan businesses to consider investing in the fields of food processing, tea and coffee export, textiles, e-commerce and vocational education, and said that the Council is ready to coordinate in organizing business connection programs and providing specific investment strategy advice to Sri Lankan partners.

In addition, Sri Lankan businesses also highly appreciated the potential and stability of Vietnam's investment environment, and were particularly impressed with the Vietnamese Government's green economic development and digital transformation policies. Some businesses expressed their desire to explore cooperation opportunities in the fields of tourism, logistics, agriculture, construction, wastewater treatment, supporting industries, import and export of consumer goods and construction materials; Vietnam's policies related to BPO (Business Process Outsourcing)...

In addition, some businesses proposed granting more convenient and longer-term visas for businesses, soon having direct flights to facilitate trade and connectivity...; exploring the possibility of the two countries soon signing a bilateral FTA/BTA.

For his part, the representative of the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade pointed out the fact that some Vietnamese enterprises are facing difficulties in exporting due to Sri Lanka's high tax rates, especially for electrical and plastic products...

Delegates attending the workshop.

At the end of the workshop, the parties agreed to strengthen the regular information exchange mechanism between the Embassy, ​​the Mekong Sri Lanka Business Council and Sri Lankan business associations; and proposed to organize a Sri Lankan business delegation to Vietnam for a field survey in 2026. On this occasion, the Embassy also introduced Vietnamese dishes and coffee to Sri Lankan businesses.

The workshop is one of the key economic diplomacy activities implemented by the Embassy of Vietnam in Sri Lanka in 2025 on the occasion of the two countries celebrating the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (1970-2025), contributing to enhancing understanding, promoting bilateral investment and trade cooperation, and promoting the image of Vietnam as an attractive, safe and sustainable investment destination in the Asia region.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/thuc-day-hop-tac-dau-tu-va-thuong-mai-viet-nam-sri-lanka-333128.html