The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Brussels conducted a workshop titled “COCONUT WONDER – Truly Sri Lankan” to promote export of Sri Lankan coconut kernel products to Belgium, on 21 April 2022. 

The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB), Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and Federation Chamber of Commerce and Industries coordinated the participation of the exporters of coconut products in Sri Lanka at the workshop on a virtual platform.

Ambassador Grace Asirwatham made an opening statement about the coconut industry of Sri Lanka and presented reasons why the importers of coconut products in Belgium should consider importing from Sri Lanka. 

samples and company profiles of Wichy Coconut, Adamjee Lukmanjee & Sons, Senikma Holdings, Cocolanka, E-Silk route ventures, Ceylon exports and trading (Pvt) ltd, Ceylon Coco Green Manufacturing (Pvt) Ltd., Renuka Foods, and Enrich Tea and Food Exports Pvt Ltd. were presented to the Belgian importers at the event.

The use of coconut products has been gaining more attention recently thanks to growing consumer interest in vegetarian, vegan and Asian cooking. Europe’s imports of desiccated coconut have been growing and Belgium is also among the leading importers of coconut products in the EU region.

The Belgian importers appreciated the quality of Sri Lankan organic coconut products, methods and technology used in production of coconut products and the zero tariff concessions provided for coconut products imports from Sri Lanka by the EU under the GSP Plus scheme.

The Belgian exporters also engaged in virtual discussions with the Sri Lankan exporters.  As the Belgian importers showed a keen interest to continue their interaction with the exporters in Sri Lanka, the Embassy promised to arrange B2B meetings between the interested parties in the near future.

A cookery video using Sri Lankan Coconut products as ingredients was played during the workshop which created awareness on the new and innovative coconut products that can be used in confectionery, bakery and chocolate industry, restaurants and hotels. 

Despite having a smaller population compared to other top European markets, Belgium imports 5.8 thousand tons of desiccated coconut to the value of Euro 11.7 million. Belgium also imports around 4% of its desiccated coconut from Sri Lanka.

The objective of the workshop was to increase Sri Lanka’s share of coconut product market by diversifying the product basket with introducing novel and state-of-the-art new products as per the evolving consumer needs and expectations in Belgium. 

Belgium is home to several large-scale producers of chocolate products, pastries, cookies and other desserts where desiccated coconut and other coconut products are used as ingredients

 Indonesia has provided humanitarian aid worth US $1.6 million to Sri Lanka.The Indonesian Embassy in Colombo said that the Indonesian Government has provided humanitarian aid of essential medicines and medical equipment to Sri Lanka to the value of Rs 517.5 million (around US $1.6 million), due to the severe shortage in Sri Lanka caused by the economic crisis.

The total volume of the aid is 3.1 tons, and will be sent from Jakarta to Colombo by Sri Lankan Airlines in two dispatchments on the 28th of April and 8th of May, 2022.

Upon receiving the request for a donation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health of Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia immediately coordinated with the related Indonesian Ministries and Indonesian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers to prepare the donation. 

“The quick responses from all stakeholders in Indonesia shows the thoughtfulness of Indonesia towards Sri Lanka and their understanding of the urgency of the said essential medicines and medical equipment for the people of Sri Lanka,” The Indonesian Embassy in Colombo said.

The Indonesian Embassy said that the long-standing, strong bond relations between Indonesia and Sri Lanka have been proven throughout their long history since many centuries ago and became stronger with the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in the year 1952. 

The two nations’ important roles have also been well-known in the Asia-Africa Conference and as the initiators of the Non-Aligned Movement. Through the years, both have had strong partnership in bilateral, regional, and multilateral contexts. The tsunami that hit Indonesia and Sri Lanka in 2004 reflected the endurance friendship of the two countries by supporting each other. 

The Government of the Republic of Indonesia collaborates with the Government of Sri Lanka through the Ministry of Health of Sri Lanka and the related authorities, as well as the Representatives Office of WHO in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, to facilitate humanitarian aid for the people of Sri Lanka.

The John De Silva Memorial Theatre, a Colombo landmark built in 1974 as a tribute to the playwright credited with the rise of Sinhala historical drama at the turn of the 20th century is to be reconstructed under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa regime ata time where his Finance Ministry has decided to suspend all on going projects to avert fiscal crisis.

This very popular theatre once famous for staging stage dramas in 1970’s was earmarked to sell at high price under privatisation by the Previous Mahinda Rajapaksa regime which was responsible for demolishing it and started to reconstruct a new theatre.

Several leading artistes and performance arts associations have protested against this move alleging the Rsajapksa regime for corrupt practices and squandering money and the reconstruction work suspended as the aim of money making by then rulers and its cronies had been exposed. ,

For years Rajapaksas along with members of his familial cartel and their horrid cronies misappropriated from the public funds and they were planning to pilfer state funds from John De Silva Memorial Theatre development project at that time, local media reported at that time.

The renovation work of the Theatre was commenced in the year 2011 but the the construction activities had been delayed due to financial issues. .

Although the Cabinet of Ministers gave its approval for expenditure estimate of Rs. 322 million, its actual expenditure was Rs. 422 million, audit inspections revealed.

Hence an estimate of another Rs. 90 million was for the completion of the first phase, for which the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers was received.

The renovation activities had been further delayed due to holding of allocations and the delay in carrying out other activities and an allocation of another Rs. 1 billion has not been released after the change of government.

However, the John De Silva Memorial Theatre reconstruction comes into light during this economic crisis to the dismay of the people who are struggling to survive under economic hardship, civil society activists said.

This theatre is to be given a new lease of life via a comprehensive refurbishment entrusted to Sierra Construction Limited, a pioneer in its own right, informed sources said.

The Department of Cultural Affairs has awarded the Design and Build contract for Stage II of the Refurbishment Project to Sierra Construction Ltd., a leading general engineering and construction company in Sri Lanka.

The refurbishment, based on conceptual designs by the Project Consultancy Unit of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Moratuwa, encompasses civil works, general engineering, stage engineering, supply and installation of mechanical and electrical equipment, testing, commissioning and maintenance..

The refurbishment work, expected to be completed by January 2023, the Company said.

Most of the equipment and materials required for the refurbishment are to be imported from prominent international suppliers and manufacturers, in order to meet international standards.

The million dollar question was the carrying out of this project as the prices of all building materials have gone up and without dollars there was no way to import necessary materials , they added.

However the Company said procurement of these specialised international-standard materials, equipment and elements will play a significant role in the project’s execution. Industry experts from France, USA, Singapore and India will collaborate with Sierra for specialised systems for acoustics, stage lighting, stage curtain and the movable stage.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is forecasting the economy of Sri Lanka to grow by 2.6% this year down from 3.6% in 2021.

This was the latest projection made by the IMF comparing to Asian Development Bank forcast of 2.4 percent GDP and Sri Lnka Central Bank 5.5 percent.

In its World Economic Outlook (WEO), a survey published twice a year, the IMF showed a projection of 2.7% for Sri Lanka’s real GDP growth.

The IMF has meanwhile urged Sri Lanka to tighten its monetary policy, raise tax and adopt flexible exchange rates to address its debt crisis.

The acting director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department, Anne-Marie Gulde-Wolf said the requirement for fund lending will be progress toward debt sustainability.

She called on Sri Lanka for measures to increase tax revenues to address critical spending needs.

“Monetary policy has to be tightened to keep inflation in check,” she said, adding that there is a need for flexible exchange rates.

Sri Lanka is expected to record economic growth of 5.5 percent in 2022, with a recovery in its tourism sector, Sri Lanka’s Central Bank announced in January 2022 and it is still keeping mum on the economic growth.

It noted that Sri Lanka was going through a difficult time but had shown to be resilient even in the past and the 2021 growth rate was likely to be around “4.5 percent to 5.0 percent.

The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) annual flagship economic publication forecasts a muted recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic as Sri Lanka’s economy grapples with macroeconomic challenges arising from high debt, low foreign reserves, and inflationary pressures. ADB forecasts Sri Lanka’s economic growth to dip to 2.4% in 2022 and improve marginally to 2.5% in 2023.

The Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2022 observes that even as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 subsides, the country is facing several headwinds. Rising food, fuel, and commodity prices; higher import prices; supply chain disruptions; shortages stemming from the foreign exchange squeeze; demand side pressures; and exchange rate depreciation will drive inflation higher in 2022. Inflationary pressures are expected to moderate in 2023 as global prices fall and supply constraints ease