The 15th Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka – Maldives Business Council (SLMLBC), The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce was held earlier on August 17, 2023.
The AGM was held at Courtyard by Marriott, Colombo. The High Commissioner of the Republic of Maldives to Sri Lanka, Ali Faiz graced the event as the chief guest with Ceylon Tours Managing Director Suren Ediriweera attending as a guest speaking.
Kevin Edwards, who served as the outgoing President of the Sri Lanka – Maldives Business Council for 2022-2023 opened the meeting with an insightful speech, and emphasized on the statistical analysis of “how certain economic and political constraints that Sri Lanka” encountered the past few years that “adversely affected vital industries that contribute to revenue generation.”
He also noted the business relationship between the Maldives and Sri Lanka, adding that the commercial ties significantly improved.
The newly elected SLMLBC president is Sudesh Mendis, the Managing Director of Ocean Trade and Logistics Services, OTL Fertiliser Pvt Ltd, Ocean Trade and Logistics Dubai, and the former teasurer of SLMLBC.
Sudesh comes with 23 years of experience in the export business with a winning slew of accolades including the National Business Excellence Award in 2016, 2017, and 2018 and the National Chamber of Exports (NCE) of Sri Lanka Export Award in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 consecutively.
As the newly elected president, Sudesh spoke at the AGM outlining his mission and noted that his primary focus i on Sri Lankan SMEs, beginning with the SME exhibitions, and announced intention to offer discounts on airline tickets, stalls, and more and even provide free logistics, if possible, to allow SMEs to exhibit innovative ideas and introduce new suppliers to the Maldivian market.
“Currently, Sri Lanka holds a market share of 5-6% in the Maldives import market. Frankly, achieving less than a 6% market share is a point of concern and disappointment. Operating three flights per day – occasionally even more – along with two vessels per week, it seems that we have not fully capitalized on these advantages. Hence, our primary vision is to expand our market share in the Maldives.”
He also noted that many government institutes have “closed their doors” to many export goods, and stressed on reopening the doors to build legitimate businesses without unsought barriers to progress.
“Statistics show that, in 2018, approximately 17,000 Maldivians lived in Sri Lanka. In 2020, this had declined to 8,000 Maldivians. As of 2021, the number continued to decline, reaching 4,000 and only 2,000 Maldivians were left in 2022,” Sudesh said.
“It is estimated that there is a loss of over 60 million dollars per year as a result of this visa issue. Therefore, our vision and mission for the upcoming year is to be the voice for both countries and strive to strengthen our friendship and business relationship better than ever before.”