Opportunity for strengthening Sri Lanka-Austria trade

AS a result of a discussion that had taken place very recently between the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Prof. Wiswa Warnapala and Hubert Gorbach, Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology of Austria, a grand opportunity has now opened for the strengthening of bilateral trade relations between Sri Lanka and Austria.

At this meeting which was held in Colombo, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Prof. Warnapala explained to the Vice Chancellor of Austria, that in the field of tourism, Austrian tourists can achieve a lot if they visit Sri Lanka in large numbers.

As far as Sri Lanka is concerned, Austria is a new market but if the responsible authorities and organizations in the two countries can get-together through a forum, Austria can be built-up as a Resource Market for Sri Lanka.

Not only the fantastic climate, even the culture and areas of eco-tourism will be interesting to the Austrian Tourists.

Sun and sand in Sri Lanka is very popular among the European Tourists, Prof. Warnapala said.

Hubert Gorbach, the Austrian Vice-Chancellor agreed with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and said that during his stay in Sri Lanka he was convinced that this island - state is a paradise and he would do his best to promote the case of Sri Lanka among Austrian tourists as a prime destination.

Prof. Warnapala took this opportunity to thank the Austrian Vice-Chancellor for the prompt action taken by the Government of Austria to help the tsunami victims in Sri Lanka and said that the numerous assistance provided by the Austrian people helped to ease the pressure, shouldered by the Sri Lanka Government.

Not only in the field of tourism, even in the other sectors too, the two countries should explore new avenues of cooperation, Prof. Warnapala said.