After a hiatus exceeding two decades, Sri Lanka is reviving bilateral trade with the second wealthiest economy in Gulf this week.“We are reviving the Sri Lanka-Kuwait Joint Trade Committee after 21 years. This shall be a new turning point in the long-standing Kuwaiti-Sri Lanka relations” said the Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen on 4 October in Colombo.
Minister Bathiudeen was addressing the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Sri Lanka (HE) Khalaf Bu Dhhair in Colombo during a preparatory discussion on the Second Session of Sri Lanka-Kuwait Joint Trade Committee that will open in Kuwait on 9 October.
A 13-member strong Sri Lankan official delegation led by Minister Bathiudeen, with officials from the Ministries of Industry and Commerce, Finance, Megapolis Development, Foreign Affairs, Higher Education, as well as state agencies (Foreign Employment Bureau, DoC and BoI) are scheduled to take flight on 8 October.
Kuwait is the second wealthiest country (per capita at US $ 30,000) in the Gulf region after Qatar (IMF).According to the Department of Commerce, an Agreement on Trade between Sri Lanka and Kuwait was signed in April 1994. The First Session of Sri Lanka – Kuwait Joint Committee Meeting was held in Colombo in March 1997.
