By NNN-PTI
Colombo : To step up trade between the two countries and taking it to USD 5 billion level, a Sri Lankan business delegation is likely to visit India next month.
“The visit by our business delegation to New Delhi is important considering Sri Lanka is Indias largest trading partner in South Asia,” an senior official of an importers body told PTI here.
During its proposed visit, the Sri Lankan delegation will also discuss the nitty-gritty of a task force that is to be formed jointly by Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) to boost trade.
Sri Lankan Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion Sarath Amunugama had earlier said Indian investors stand to benefit from provisions and avenues available to them under the Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement.
A CII delegation lead by S Somany, which toured the Island nation between November 27-30, had invited CCC to participate in the ‘Partnership Summit’ to be held in Gurgaon (Haryana) from January 16-18.
During the visit Somany had said: “We are targeting a bilateral trade of 5 billion dollars in value terms by 2010 and we will soon be setting up a high level task force with representatives CII and CSS.” Indias exports to the Island country stood at USD 2.25 billion during 2007, imports from Sri Lanka was estimated at USD 470 million during the period.