Sweden’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Margo Wallström, has paid an official visit to Jaffna, Sri Lanka. The visit took place from 24 – 26 April at the invitation of Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mangala Samaraweera. Minister Wallström served in Sri Lanka from 1998 to 1999 as the Executive Vice President of the World View Global Media.
A trade delegation of leading Swedish companies including Icomera, Ericsson, Volvo, ABB, SAAB, Scania, and AXIS Communication also participated. An interactive Business Round Table discussion was held with the aim of forging stronger business links between the two countries.
Anna Liberg, trade commissioner for Business Sweden, said, “Companies represented today are all global providers of state of the art technologies in their respective fields. Areas of particular interest are engineering and services for infrastructure which account for a significant share of Sweden-Sri Lanka trade.”
Sri Lankan officials noted that, due to the rapid expansion of urban areas in the country, there is now a key opportunity for investment in city infrastructure and services, with a particular focus on sustainable technologies. Lakshaman Jayasekara, project director for Western Region Megapolis Planning Project, observed that there are several requirements for innovation in the transportation sector, notably bus rapid transit and electrification of railway and monorail.
The visit is expected to contribute towards progressing relations between the two countries and enhance opportunities for trade co-operation.
