COLOMBO – An 11-member trade delegation from Myanmar visited Sri Lanka last week to explore the possibility of expanding business ties and investment opportunities between the two countries.

“This is an opportunity to extend our friendship for a fruitful partnership,” Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce vice chairman Jayampathi Bandaranayake told the Myanmar delegation after they arrived on August 27.

U Win Myint, president of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), said in a speech: “We are part of a state delegation and are here to explore the possibilities of exports and imports between the two countries. Both nations could benefit from this…. We have business opportunities in Myanmar.”

Trade between Myanmar and Sri Lanka is rising swiftly, according Sri Lanka’s Export Development Board.

The local Daily Mirror newspaper quoted the board’s director general, Sujatha Weerakoon, as saying Sri Lanka’s exports to Myanmar totalled US$110,000 last year but had increased to US$2.29 million during the first half 2007. Myanmar's exports to Sri Lanka had grown from $2.65 million in 2006 to $5 million up to July this year, the report said.

“Sri Lanka is a good investment destination for Myanmar,” said the executive director of the Promotion Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, Duminda Ariyasingha, pointing out that there was a new cargo terminal at Bandaranaike International Airport, six new highways that will be completed within next five years, plans for railway development and the possibility of oil exploration in Sri Lanka. – Daily Mirror