British Trade Envoy for Sri Lanka to visit the country

UK MP Ranil Jayawardena who was appointed by British Prime Minister Theresa May as her trade envoy for Sri Lanka is to visit Sri Lanka from February 15 to 17 to meet with senior members of the Government and engage with British business’s working in Sri Lanka, a statement said.

He was appointed to support and enhance the development of Britain’s trade and investment with Sri Lanka.

Mr Jayawardena was elected as the Member of Parliament for North East Hampshire in May 2015 and was reelected in 2017. He has a degree in government from the London School of Economics.

In Parliament, he is the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Sri Lanka. Mr Jayawardena’s father is of Sri Lankan origin.

“Given the shared history and close bonds of friendship between Britain and Sri Lanka – and with my family ties to Sri Lanka – I am looking forward to serving as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy at an exciting time for both our countries,” British High Commission said quoting MP Jayawardena.

“There’s lots of scope for further trade and investment between Britain and Sri Lanka. I recently visited the Port City, one among many initiatives that the Sri Lankan Government is pushing forward that demonstrates its commitment to creating the right conditions for economic growth,” he said.

“Port City will provide a range of opportunities for UK-based professional services to work with Sri Lankan partners to take forward our shared ambitions to develop international business. I am confident that engagement by the UK’s professional services sector will help Port City to attract international investment and build its reputation,” he said.

Meanwhile, British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka James Dauris said as the Sri Lankan economy grew the UK Government was seeing an encouraging increase in the number of British companies wanting to do business with Sri Lanka.

“Mr Jayawardana’s appointment will help us to encourage more UK firms to look at options for doing business in and with Sri Lanka and to boost bilateral trade,” he added.