The event, conducted both in-person and online and chaired by Vietnamese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Trinh Thi Tam and MBC Chairman Nimal Ratnayake, was designed to introduce Vietnam’s business and investment potential while discussing orientations and strategies to boost bilateral economic cooperation in the near future.

Participants including representatives from Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Vietnam Trade Office in India, embassy staff, and nearly 100 delegates from MBC-affiliated associations and Sri Lankan businesses showed their interest in the Vietnamese and ASEAN markets.

Opening the seminar, MBC Chairman Nimal Ratnayake praised the embassy’s initiative, describing it as an opportunity for Sri Lankan enterprises, especially MBC members, to gain a clearer understanding of the Vietnamese market, including regulations and procedures, thereby strengthening their commitment to doing business and investing in Vietnam.

He also referred to the bilateral trade target of US$1 billion set out in the joint declaration during Sri Lankan President Dissanayake’s state visit to Vietnam in May 2025, emphasizing that achieving this goal would require efforts from both governments and businesses.

Ambassador Trinh Thi Tam noted that recent bilateral trade has hovered around US$300 million per year. Sri Lanka currently has approximately 30 investment projects in Vietnam, valued at over US$42 million. She assessed that economic ties between the two countries still hold untapped potential, particularly in agriculture, fisheries, tourism, and education.

The ambassador affirmed that, with strong traditional friendship, Vietnam and Sri Lanka are well-positioned to expand economic, trade, and investment cooperation. The Vietnamese Embassy in Colombo remains ready to assist Sri Lankan businesses in exploring opportunities in Vietnam and resolving any challenges encountered during cooperation.

During a thematic presentation, the embassy detailed investment-attraction policies, administrative reforms, and digital transformation initiatives in the economy, highlighting priority sectors for cooperation such as high-tech agriculture, processing industries, textiles, renewable energy, logistics, tourism, and information technology.

With a strategic location at the heart of Southeast Asia, well-developed port infrastructure, competitive labor costs, and an extensive network of free trade agreements (FTAs), Vietnam is considered an ideal destination for Sri Lankan enterprises seeking to expand production or engage in regional supply chains.

MBC representatives described Vietnam as an emerging “economic gateway” of the Mekong subregion, playing a key role in connecting trade between Southeast and South Asia.

MBC recommended that Sri Lankan businesses consider investments in food processing, tea and coffee exports, textiles, e-commerce, and vocational education, and confirmed their readiness to coordinate programs for business networking and investment-strategy consultation to support Sri Lankan partners in expanding cooperation in Vietnam.

Sri Lankan enterprises also recognized the potential and stability of Vietnam’s investment environment, while expressing admiration for the government’s green economic and digital transformation policies. Many businesses indicated interest in exploring cooperation in tourism, logistics, agriculture, construction, wastewater treatment, supporting industries, consumer goods import-export, and business process outsourcing (BPO).

Some participants suggested easing visa conditions and opening direct flights between the two countries to facilitate trade and investment connectivity, while also expressing interest in the possibility of concluding bilateral FTAs or BTAs in the near future.

Representatives from Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade noted challenges faced by some Vietnamese exporters to Sri Lanka due to high tariffs, particularly on electrical products and plastics, and called for continued policy dialogue to remove trade barriers and boost bilateral trade.

The seminar concluded with agreements to strengthen regular information exchange between the Vietnamese Embassy in Sri Lanka, MBC, and Sri Lankan business associations, and proposals to organize Sri Lankan business delegations to Vietnam in 2026 for on-site exploration to bolster more substantive investment and trade cooperation.

On this occasion, the Vietnamese Embassy also introduced Vietnamese cuisine and coffee to Sri Lankan businesses, helping to promote Vietnamese culture and products.

The seminar represents a key economic diplomacy event of 2025 organized by the Vietnamese Embassy in Sri Lanka, marking the 55th anniversary of Vietnam-Sri Lanka diplomatic relations (1970–2025). The event contributed to mutual understanding, step up bilateral investment and trade cooperation, and reinforced Vietnam’s image as a safe, attractive, and sustainable investment destination in Asia.

Source: VOV