Secretary of State for Foreign Trade of the Kingdom of BelgiumPieter De Crem made a one day official visit to Sri Lanka on 18th February 2016, and extended his country's support to regain the GSP+ concession.

This visit at the level of Secretary of State from the Kingdom of Belgium marked a new chapter in Sri Lanka - Belgium relations, the Ministery said in a statement.

During the visit, De Crem held bilateral talks with Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Harsha de Silva. At the talks, the visiting Secretary expressed the hope that the current developments in Sri Lanka would provide better opportunities for the existing ties between Sri Lanka and the Kingdom of Belgium to be further enhanced. He also stated that Belgium will extend its support for Sri Lanka’s efforts to regain GSP+ concession.

Acting Minister De Silva encouraged the Belgium business community to make use of the present investor friendly environment in Sri Lanka and explore business opportunities accordingly.  State Secretary Pieter De Crem responded that there will be a business delegation headed by a high level political representative visiting Sri Lanka in the later part of 2016 to explore opportunities.

It was noted that there are already several Belgium companies who are operating successfully in Sri Lanka in the fields of food processing, gems and jewellery, IT service, apparels, rubber based automotive components, tourism and infrastructure projects. However, attention was made to the fact that the balance of trade between Sri Lanka and Belgium remains in favour of Sri Lanka.

During the visit, State Secretary Pieter De Crem also held talks with the Minister of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine, Rajitha Senaratne, State Minister of International Trade Sujeewa Senasinghe, and Minister of Megapolis and Western Development, Champika Ranawaka.