The 32nd Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka – Pakistan Business Council (SLPBC) was recently held, graced by His Excellency Major General (R) Faheem Ul Aziz, HI (M) High Commissioner of Pakistan in Sri Lanka, His Excellency Admiral Ravindra C Wijegunaratne, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in Pakistan at Cinnamon Grand, Colombo.
Mr. Indhra Kaushal Rajapaksa Chairman/Managing Director of the Kalhari Group of Companies was re-elected as President of SLPBC for 2024/25.. The Vice-Presidents elected for 2024/25 include Mr. Wasantha de Silva, Managing Director, DMW Ventures Private Limited and Mr. Gayan Maddumarachchi, Director, MAC Holdings (Pvt) Ltd. Mr. S. Deivanayagam, Managing Director of Eswaran Brothers Exports (Pvt) Ltd will continue to serve the committee as immediate past president.
The newly appointed committee for the year 2024/25 consists of Mr. Feroze Anver from Creative Textile Mill (Pvt) Ltd, Ms. Ranella Jayasuriya from John Keells Holdings PLC, Mr. Abdul Rehman Abdul Aziz from Rays International Shipping (Pvt) Ltd, Mr. M. Shabeer Iqbal from Star Textile Processing Industries and Mr. P. M. Abeysekara from Vinu International Trading Co (Pvt) Ltd.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Rajapaksa highlighted the contributions of the two nations to uplift each other during the difficult times. Further he highlighted that the Pakistan High Commission has been highly supportive and working closely to enhance trade, investment, and tourism despite challenges with the existing Free Trade Agreement, ongoing discussions aim to remove barriers, unlocking vast growth potential.
The gathering was addressed by the High Commissioners of the Pakistan and Sri Lanka missions. Who both expressed their support to facilitating trade, investment, and tourism, among others, between the two nations.
SLPBC aims to promote trade, services, and tourism between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The Council’s efforts are geared towards building stronger industry engagements, exploring new business opportunities, and facilitating greater collaboration among these two nations to unlock their combined potential. Efforts such as facilitating on-arrival visa services for Pakistani visitors are a key component of this strategy.
The Sri Lanka – Pakistan Business Council was inaugurated in August 1991 under the aegis of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce to promote bilateral trade, tourism and investment between Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
