Trade between Sri Lanka and Belgium is expected to be augmented ‘significantly’ as a result of next week’s Belgian mission in Colombo, Honorary consul for Belgium Pierre Pringiers said.

At least five of the 12 companies on the mission are scheduled to launch products or sign up local partners during the two day official programme of the mission. Pringiers said that launches expected to take place include a venture for the manufacture of upmarket shoes, a product for cleaning and weather-proofing aluminium and glass exteriors, maintenance free PVC panelling and door and window frames and high quality laminated flooring.

About 30 Belgian joint ventures are already in commercial operation in Sri Lanka with a total investment of more than Rs five billion. These ventures employ more than 8,000 people and generate export earnings in excess of Rs nine billion.

The Belgian mission will explore several key areas of interest, including port development, dredging (the Belgian company Jan de Nul was responsible for the Chek Lap Koh airport project in Hong Kong, said to be one of the single largest land reclamation ventures), power generation (Pauwels International, Belgian is supplying 31.5 MVA transformers under the ADB financed Second Power System Expansion Project), textiles, food and beverages, building materials, carpets, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, dairy products, water treatment and waste management.

"These are areas in which Belgian companies have a competitive advantage and many of them are looking for manufacturing bases in South Asia in order to penetrate markets in the region," Pringiers said, adding that Sri Lanka is well-positioned to provide this base.

He also said that the Belgian joint venture Doit-E Lanka which is based in Kandy, plans to open an office in Colombo with a staff of 40 during the time of the Mission’s visit. The Company, which develops web-based software for export, plans to expand to 200 programmers by the end of the year.

The Mission which will be in Colombo from March 1-4, will meet top officials of the Board of Investment (BOI), the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, the Ceylon Electricity Board and the Ministries of Power and Energy, Trade, Industries and Ports. A seminar on the construction industry for architects, contractors, interior designers and others has been scheduled for March 1.

The participating Belgian companies include Willems Schoonmaakorganisatie, Deceuninck Plastics Industries, Unilin Decor, Jan De Nul, Kipco-Damaco NV, Doit-E International, Arcade Style, De Decker-van Riet Group, Fast Forward Trading, Tractebel, Pauwels International NV, Riva NV and Seghers Better Technology.

Representatives of these companies will be accompanied by the Belgian Ambassador in New Delhi Guy Trouveroy. They will be assisted by the Honorary Consul for Sri Lanka in Belgium Monique De Decker, Belgium’s Counsellor for International Trade in Sri Lanka Sicille Kotelawala and President Benelux Business Council Mahen Kariyawasam.

(Press Release)