The 33rd Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka – Pakistan Business Council (SLPBC) was held recently, attended by His Excellency Major General (R) Faheem Ul Aziz, HI (M) High Commissioner of Pakistan in Sri Lanka at Cinnamon Lakeside, Colombo.
Wasantha de Silva, Managing Director DMW Ventures (Pvt) Ltd was elected as President of SLPBC for 2025/26, while Feroze Haji Anver from Cliftex Industries (Pvt) Ltd and Perakum Mahasen Abeysekera from Vinu International Trading Company (Pvt)Ltd were elected Vice Presidents, and M. Shabeer Iqbal from Star Textile Processing Industries was elected Treasurer. Indhra Kaushal Rajapaksa Chairman/Managing Director of the Kalhari Group of Companies will serve the committee as Immediate Past President.
The newly appointed committee for the year 2025/26 consists of Gayan Maddumarachchi from APS Logistics International (Pvt) Ltd, Malithi Rajapaksha from John Keells Holdings PLC,Abdul Rehman Abdul Aziz from Rays International Shipping (Pvt) Ltd, Chandana Jirasinha from Aitken Spence Cargo (Pvt) Ltd and Priyantha Dissanayake from Mansel Ceylon (Pvt) Ltd.
His Excellency Faheem Ul Aziz, emphasised the need to increase Sri Lanka’s tea exports to Pakistan and also called on Sri Lankan businesses to pursue investment opportunities in Pakistan, particularly in high-potential sectors.
Addressing the gathering, newly elected President of the Council Mr.de Silva affirming that the deep-rooted friendship between Sri Lanka and Pakistan built on shared values, strong people-to-people connections, and expanding economic ties continues to flourish under the Free Trade Agreement, with immense potential in trade, tourism, and business collaboration.
The 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.
For further details regarding membership of the Council, please contact the Secretariat of the Sri Lanka – Pakistan Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, No. 50, Navam Mawatha, Colombo 2. E-mail: [email protected] or Tel.: 011 5588875/ 5588800.
