Sri Lanka participates in Catalogue Show in The Netherlands

The Embassy of Sri Lanka in The Netherlands participated in the Catalogue Show held on the International Trade Day on 7^th April 2011, in the Province of Limburg, The Netherlands. The event was jointly organized by the Embassy of Sri Lanka and the Chamber of Commerce in the Province of Limburg.  137 small and medium scale companies from 25 product export sectors representing 6 Sri Lankan Business Chambers and Sri Lanka Export Development Board participated with their company profiles, brochures and samples in the Catalogue Show.

The event was an excellent opportunity to showcase Sri Lanka’s export products to the entrepreneurs in the region to consider Sri Lanka as a possible destination for business, investment and tourism.  The gathering at The International Trade Day and the Catalogue Show was addressed by Mr. Wil Houben, Director of the Limburg Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Senarath Dissanayake,  Chargé d’ Affaires a.i. of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in The Netherlands, Mr. Bernard Menken, Honorary Consul for Sri Lanka in Rotterdam and Mr. Ruben Blanke of the Netherlands Sri Lanka Business Council. They informed the business gathering on the conducive political and economic situation currently prevailing in Sri Lanka.

The Netherlands has been a considerable export and tourist market for Sri Lanka.   In 2009 the Netherlands ranked the 5^th largest export market for Sri Lankan products in the European Union. Tourist arrivals from the Netherlands to Sri Lanka in the first two months of 2011 when compared to the same period in 2010 increased by  79.8%. Further, the latest travel advisory issued by the Dutch authorities on 9^th February 2011 raised   Sri Lanka’s position from category 3 to category 2. This classification is done by the Dutch Foreign Ministry based on the levels of safety and security of the tourist destinations around the world.

The Embassy of Sri Lanka expects to address the entrepreneurs in Chambers of Commerce of other regions in the Netherlands by organising similar catalogue shows in future.

The Embassy of Sri Lanka

April 11, 2011                                                                   

The Hague, The Netherlands

Sri Lanka tourism promoted

at Dutch Tourism Expo “Vakantiebeurs 2011”

Sr

Sri Lanka is participating at the Dutch Tourism Expo “Vakentiebeurs 2011”, which is being held from 11^th to 16^th January, 2011 in Utrecht, in The Netherlands.

The “Vakentiebeurs” is a popular tourism trade fair in the Benelux region which has been held in The Netherlands since 1970. This is the 29^th time that Sri Lanka is taking part in the fair as organized by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau in close coordination with the Embassy of Sri Lanka in The Hague.

The theme for the “Vakentiebeurs 2011” is ‘unforgettable destinations’.  The Expo brings together tour operators, travel trade professionals, travel journalists, consumers and other interested parties under one roof to meet and network in order to market tourism products and services. Around 120 countries with more than 1100 exhibitors are represented at the “Vakenbeures 2011” which is expected to attract around 100,000 visitors.

Ten Sri Lankan companies namely Asian Adventures, Sunway Holidays, Ceylon Tours, Jetwing Travels, Lanka Leisure Travel, ECO Team, Walkers Tours, Andrews Travels,   Journey’s Scape and Hawk Travels are represented at the Sri Lanka pavilion. The Netherlands is one of the important tourism markets for Sri Lanka which has recorded 58.2% increase in arrivals in 2010. 

Ambassador Grace Asirwatham inaugurated the Sri Lanka pavilion by lighting the oil lamp. The Honorary Consul for Sri Lanka in Rotterdam Mr. Bernard Menken, The Netherlands-Sri Lanka Business Council President Mr. Ton Hens, officials of the Sri Lankan Airlines GSA in Amsterdam, CBI coordinator for Sri Lanka and tour operators attended the inauguration. The inauguration programme included Sri Lankan dance performances and service of Sri Lankan Rasa Kevili in order to make the event more colorful with a touch of food and culture.

Sri Lanka Embassy

The Hague

12^th January, 2011

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Christmas Carols at the Embassy in The Hague

Sri Lanka Embassy in The Hague celebrated Christmas at the Embassy premises on 18th December 2010. The event was held in keeping with the tradition of celebrating the important festivals of all religions practiced in Sri Lanka in order to promote friendship and understanding among the community members.

Ambassador Grace Asirwatham in her welcome address highlighted the significance of Christmas in terms of peace and love and underscored the need to support the efforts of the government towards reconciliation and establishing lasting peace in the country. The Chaplain of the Church of St. Philip and St. John in The Hague, Rev. Tony Roake conducted the sermon and prayers on the occasion. The highlight of the event was the trilingual Christmas carols sung by the staff of the Embassy together with the members of the Sri Lankan community in the Netherlands. Despite the extremely snowy weather the Sri Lankan community members of all ethnic and religious faiths attended the celebrations to show friendship and solidarity with the Christian brethren.

At the end of the programme the guests were treated to traditional Sri Lankan food, Christmas cake and Ceylon tea.

Embassy of Sri Lanka

The Hague

The Netherlands

December 20, 2010

Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena inaugurates the International

Floriculture Trade Fair (IFTF) in the Netherlands

The Minister of Agriculture of Sri Lanka Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana, who is on a visit to The Netherlands on the invitation of the Dutch Minister of Agriculture and Foreign Trade Dr. Henk Bleker to attend the Global Conference on Agriculture, Food Security, and Climate Change being held in The Hague, inaugurated the International Floriculture Trade Fair (IFTF) at the Expo Haarlemmermeer on 3^rd November 2010 in Vijfhuizen in The Netherlands. The General Manager of the IFTF Mr. Dick van Raamsdonk welcomed the Minister and thanked him for his presence at the important trade fair. Ambassador Grace Asirwatham accompanied the Minister to the event.

The International Floriculture Trade Fair (IFTF), a new international flower and plant expo in The Netherlands will be held for three days from 3^rd November. The fair is organised to cover all processes of the industry of floriculture under one roof to connect growers, breeders and promoters to facilitate international trade.Around 1000 exhibitors from many countries including Sri Lanka are participating in the fair. The Sri Lankan pavilion was organised by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) in close coordination with the Embassy of Sri Lanka in The Hague. Exporters from Sri Lanka namely Serendib Horticulture Technologies (Pvt) Ltd, Asian Cuttings Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, Mike Flora International (Pvt) Ltd, M.C. Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd, Southern Agrocraft (Pvt) Ltd, Ramya Horticulture(Pvt) Ltd, and Greenet Plants & Flowers (Pvt) Ltd are participating at the fair.

The Netherlands is the major market for Sri Lanka horticulture products which imports nearly 40% of the total exports. The exports to the Netherlands mainly include decorative foliage and indoor ornamental plants. Sri Lanka has been catering to the major Dutch growers for the last 30 years.

Embassy of Sri Lanka

The Hague

4^th November 2010

Embassy in The Hague hosts Iftar gathering

The Embassy of Sri Lanka in The Hague together with the Sri Lankan community hosted an Iftar gathering at the Embassy premises on 3^rd September for the Sri Lankan Muslims observing Ramadan fasting in The Netherlands. The religious observances were conducted by Moulana Mohamed Fares Mokiem Saheb from the Mosque in The Hague and Moulana Abdul Hameed from the Mosque in Akkaraipattu in Sri Lanka. Ambassador Mrs. Grace Asirwatham in her address to the gathering underlined the need to foster tolerance and goodwill among the communities to sustain peace and economic prosperity in Sri Lanka. She added that the objective of commemorating major events and festivals of all religions at the Embassy is to strengthen the bonds of friendship among the community members and contribute to the efforts of the government to bolster peace in the country.

All guests were invited to enjoy the traditional Iftar food in fellowship with those observed the ritual of breaking the fast.

The Embassy of Sri Lanka

The Hague

6^th September 2010

Sri Lanka Embassy Celebrates Vesak in The Hague

The Embassy of Sri Lanka in The Hague celebrated Vesak on the 27^th of May 2010 at the Embassy premises. A large number of Sri Lankans living in the Netherlands participated in the celebrations. The Embassy premises were colourfully illuminated and decorated with Vesak lanterns and Buddhist flags.

Welcoming the gathering the Ambassador to the Netherlands Grace Asirwatham said that while the country is recovering from the ordeal of three decades of terrorism, the government is following a policy to lead the country to the correct path according to the dhamma in order to completely wipe out violence, intolerance and all related evils from the country. The Ambassador further said that a peaceful society with better understanding, trust and confidence among the communities can be created through seeking inspiration from the fundamental Buddhist teachings.

Venerable Murugasyaye Gnanissara Nayaka Thero of Jethavana Vihara in Paris conducted religious observances. The Venerable Thero, in his sermon highlighted the importance of Vesak along the lines of the teachings of the Lord Buddha for daily life. Following the religious observances the embassy staff recited Bakthi gee.

The celebrations concluded with alms giving by the Embassy to invoke blessings upon the country.

Embassy of Sri Lanka

The Hague

28^th May 2010

“The wonder of Asia is in the making, and get your share of benefits by exploiting the extremely conducive trade and investment atmosphere in Sri Lanka” said Ambassador Grace Asirwatham while addressing the leading businessmen at the Hague Chamber of Commerce. A business seminar cum networking meeting was held during the visit of a delegation of the Sri Lanka Benelux Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce to the Netherlands from 25^th- 26^th May 2010. The visit to the Netherlands was the first leg of the delegation’s mission to the Benelux countries to promote trade, investment and joint ventures.

The delegation which comprised 10 businessmen representing the sectors of tourism, garments, coir products, rubber products, IT services, foliage and plants and intraocular lenses had successful meetings with the prospective Dutch businessmen during the visit. They also received a briefing by the Advisor for International Business Ms. Danielle Bouwman at the Chamber of Commerce in Rotterdam on the nitty-gritty of doing business with the Netherlands and possible cooperation between the two Chambers to facilitate exchange of visits and trade information. Mr. Bernard Menken, President of the Netherlands –Sri Lanka Business Council also briefed the delegation on technical issues relating to business match-making, warehouses and trade logistics in the Netherlands.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs hosted a meeting with the participation of officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to brief the delegation on matters connected to promotion of bilateral trade relations. Mr. Paul Zwetsloot, Chief of the Emerging & Distant Markets Division of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, referring to the GSP+ issue said that he was aware of the progress being made in Sri Lanka since end of the war and added that a report on the present position on this issue is awaited from the European Commission (EC).The Foreign Ministry representative briefed the delegation on the new visa scheme that came into effect in April this year which is also known as “Orange Carpet” facility for foreign entrepreneurs. In this regard the representative further said that the Dutch Ambassador in Colombo will give publicity to the new visa scheme which would grant long term visa up to five years to selected entrepreneurs.

The delegation also visited the Secretariat of the Netherlands’ Senior Experts (PUM) to explore the possibilityof broadening the scope of the Dutch consultancy assistance programme for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Sri Lanka. The meeting was attended by Mr. Frans Veen, Sri Lanka Country Coordinator of PUM, Mr. S.P.C. Kumarasinghe, local coordinator and sector focused senior experts.Mr. Frans Veen said that PUM is happy to expand its free consultancy assistance programme to SMEs in all provinces in Sri Lanka and sought the cooperation of the business chambers in Sri Lanka to promote it among their membership in order to identify new beneficiaries.

Ambassador Grace Asirwatham and Counsellor Senarath Dissanayake associated at all meetings of the delegation. Following the two day visit in the Netherlands the delegation left for Luxemburg and Belgium.

Sri Lanka Embassy

The Hague

28^th May 2010

The Embassy in The Hague celebrates 62^nd Anniversary of Independence of Sri Lanka 

The 62^nd Anniversary of the Independence of Sri Lanka was commemorated by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in The Hague.ague  

The celebrations commenced with the hoisting of the National Flag of Sri Lanka by Ambassador Grace Asirwatham on 4^th February morning at the Embassy premises followed by singing of the National Anthem and observance of two minutes silence to remember with gratitude those who laid down their lives to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.

Following the lighting of the traditional oil lamp, multi religious observances were conducted to represent Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam by Ven. Kotagama Vachchissara Thero, Ven. Pandit Vishnu Mahadew Panday, Rev. Fr. Sjaak de Boer and Rev. Moulana Fares Mokiem Saheb respectively.

The National Day Messages of His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Honorable Prime Minister Rathnasiri Wickramanayake and Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs Rohitha Bogollagama were read out at the function.

Addressing the gathering, Ambassador Asirwatham underlined the importance of the independence anniversary celebrations in the backdrop of Sri Lanka’s victory against terrorism and the people’s fresh mandate to H.E the President. The Ambassador said that while transforming the victory against terrorism into a lasting peace, the government is focusing on an accelerated economic development and emphasized the need for the Sri Lanka Diaspora in the Netherlands to extend their support and cooperation to Sri Lanka at this time of need. Ambassador Asirwatham added that as per the nation- building programme of the government, the Embassy is also spirited to make the most of the extremely favorable ground situation in the country to promote Dutch economic activities in Sri Lanka. 

Sri Lanka at the ‘Vakantiebeurs’- 2010 (Trade and Consumer Travel Fair)

in Utrecht , the Netherlands

Sri Lanka participates at the ‘Vakantiebeurs’- 2010 in Utrecht in the Netherlands which is being held from 12^th to 17^th of January 2010. The ‘Vakantiebeurs’, an annual Trade and Consumer Travel Fair which is considered to be the largest event in the Benelux travel market attracts thousands of tour operators, travel trade professionals, travel journalists, consumers and others in the tourism trade. While over 1600 exhibitors from 160 countries partake in the Fair, it is expected that it will attract more than 20,000 professionals and 125,000 visitors.

The Fair has been held since 1970 in Utrecht and Sri Lanka has been taking part in the Fair for the past 28 years. The ‘Vakantiebeurs’ provides a strategic platform to Sri Lanka to get in touch with potential Dutch visitors as well as establish contacts with tour operators and travel writers in the Benelux region.

The Netherlands is one of the top ten market sources for tourism to Sri Lanka which recorded 15,797 arrivals in 2008. With the end of terrorism in May 2009 the tourist arrival from the Netherlands is observed to be increasing rapidly. Under the coordination of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Board, seven (7) companies namely Jetwing Travels, Heritage Expeditions, Airwing Tours, Sunway holidays, Andrews Travels, Lanka Sports Rizen and Journeyscape promote Sri Lanka tourism at the Fair.

The Sri Lankan pavilion at the ‘Vakantiebeurs’ was inaugurated by the Ambassador to the Netherlands Mrs. Grace Asirwatham on 12^th January.

Sri Lanka Embassy/ The Hague

January 14, 2010