Thai training for local jewellery manufacturers

Anjana SAMARASINGHE

TRAINING: Thailand has agreed to provide necessary training for local jewellery manufacturers and pledged to participate in international gem and jewellery fairs in Sri Lanka.

Senior officials of the National Gem and Jewellery Authority (NGJA) told the Daily News, this was revealed during the fact finding mission to Thailand and Singapore, headed by the Enterprise Development Minister Mano Wijeratne.

This will be a train the trainer programme. Under this program local trainers in gem cutting and jewellery manufacturing will complete training in Thailand.

The Ministry expects to implement the project in the near future.

During the mission to Thailand the delegation met members of the Thailand Jewellery manufacturers Association and Gem Traders’ Association and Thailand Deputy Minister of Commerce. Thailand also agreed to have National pavilion at the ‘Facets Show’ held in Colombo every year, he said.

During the discussions with the Gem and Jewellery industrialists in Singapore Sri Lanka agreed to have a Sri Lankan pavilion at the Singapore International Jewellery Show which will be held in August.

Singapore is a potential market for Sri Lanka and this pavilion will be the first Lankan pavilion at the Jewellery show. NGJA also finalized the participation at the JCK show in Las Vegas in June, he said.

Meanwhile NGJA also launched Expeditious Mail Service EMS for export of gem and jewellery. NGJA together with Sri Lanka Postal Authorities, Sri Lanka Customs and Sri Lanka Insurance Company inaugurated this project.

Chairman of the NGJA Hasitha Tillekeratne said that EMS will deliver gem and jewellery of local exporters for their buyers in worldwide within five days for competitive prices than the normal courier services. It will also provide better safety for the goods.

This service will be a huge boost for gem cutters and gem re-exporters. Before EMS was launched exporters used to get the same facility through registered air mailers and it took 12 days to dispatch the goods.