“There is clear progress in the management of Sri Lanka’s international trade. We at the International Trade Centre are pleased. The glass is half full for Sri Lanka’s trade and you need to fill the rest,” Geneva International Trade Centre (ITC)’s Executive Director Arancha González said in Colombo last Friday. González was in discussions with Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen on the sidelines of the launch of Sri Lanka Trade information Portal (SLTIP) by the Commerce Department.

Acknowledging ITC’s call, Sri Lanka nudged Geneva to support the country’s SMEs so that they could take on a bigger role in the country’s exports Minister Bathiudeen thanked ITC for its role in Sri Lanka’s trade reform initiatives. “I thank the ITC for the support extended to the Government to implement the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.The World Bank and the ITC coordinated their activities in Sri Lanka’s trade facilitation very well. Continuous collaboration between donors and development partners is key to maximise benefits of technical assistance in Sri Lanka,” Minister Bathiudeen said. “ I welcome ITC offer to further support our TIP in the coming years.

This complements World Bank’s efforts and also ensures the sustainability of the large scale trade reforms by our Government. We have a registered SME base of more than one million.When adding the unregistered SME numbers, it translates into an even larger base of economic activity.These SMEs play a considerable role in our domestic consumer, supply and even value chains.As the Minister in charge of our SMEs, I believe that time has come to integrate this sector into our exports and make these brands visible globally.

I call on ITC to extend its support to our ongoing efforts to link SMEs to global chains.” González praised Sri Lanka’s trade reform initiatives. “There is clear progress in the management of Sri Lanka’s international trade. We at International Trade Centre are pleased of National Export Strategy and Sri Lanka Trade Information Portal. The glass is half full for Sri Lanka’s trade, and you need to fill the rest. The NES and SLTIP should now be perationalised well. European Union is very supportive of these initiatives,” González said.“Sri Lanka should start leveraging this progress,” she said.