Delegation representing 70 Japanese firms in SL

A Japanese delegation representing 70 leading Japanese firms, comprising officials of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industries and the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industries, will arrive in Sri Lanka on 24 January to identify investment and business opportunities in Sri Lanka, according to the Government news portal, news.lk.

It is for the first time in 40 years that such a high-powered Japanese delegation is visiting Sri Lanka. Representatives of leading Japanese firms such as Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Mitsui Japan Air Lines, Eastern Bank, Tokyo’s Mitsubishi Bank, All Nippon Airways, Nippon Steel, Itochu Marubeni and Toda will be in the visiting delegation, which is led by Dr. Akiyo Meemura, President of the Chambers of Commerce and Industries of both Japan and Tokyo.

The Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry represents over 78,000 Japanese firms, while the Tokyo Chamber represents nearly 78,000 firms in Tokyo.

The delegation will meet President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for discussions and will attend an Industrial Seminar alongside the Prime Minister and several other Ministers.
Total bilateral trade between Japan and Sri Lanka, which amounted to US$ 566 million in 2004, increased to US$ 1,150 million in 2016.

Sri Lanka’s exports to Japan during the first 11 months of 2017 increased in volume by about 4 per cent. Japan’s total investments in Sri Lanka up to the last quarter of 2017 stood at US$ 316 million.
This has created 10,000 job opportunities, while Japanese tourist arrivals have also increased sharply.
The total number of Japanese tourists in Sri Lanka, which stood at 15,000 in 2010, increased to 45,000 in 2017.