43rd Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka – Japan Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce

The 43rd Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka – Japan Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce was held recently at Ramada Hotel Colombo. His Excellency Hideaki Mizukoshi, Ambassador of Japan in Sri Lanka, who is also the Patron of the Council was the Chief Guest at the AGM.  

The Sri Lanka – Japan Business Council was set up in 1979 as the Sri Lanka – Japan Business Co-operation Committee (SLJBCC) by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, following a Memorandum of Understanding with the Japan – Sri Lanka Business Co-operation Committee (JSLBCC) of the Japan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (JCCI). The SLJBC is the first bilateral business council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. The main objective of the Business Council is the promotion of trade and tourism between Sri Lanka and Japan, as well as the facilitation of investments.  

Mr. Mahen Kariyawasan, Managing Director, Andrew The Travel Company (Pvt) Ltd. was elected by the members, as the President of the Sri Lanka – Japan Business Council for the year 2022-2023. Mr. Ruwan Waidyaratne, Managing Director, Hayleys Advantis Ltd.; Mr. Athulla R F Edirisinghe, Director, Hirohama Ceylon (Pvt) Ltd.; Mr. Rohitha Mendis, Managing Director, Prudential Shipping Lines (Pte) Ltd.; Mr. Chanaka Kariyapperuma, Proprietor, ASOL Traders; and Mr. Jeewana Waidyaratne, Director/General Manager, Metatechno Lanka Company (Pvt.) Ltd. were elected as Vice Presidents for the year 2022 – 2023. Mr. Merrick Gooneratne, Executive Director, TOS Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. will serve on the Committee as the Immediate Past President. Deshabandu Tilak de Zoysa and Desamanya Deva Rodrigo will continue to serve on the Committee as Advisers during the year 2022 – 2023. The Business Council members: Heritage Teas (Pvt) Ltd, Hsenid Business Solution (Pvt) Ltd, MAC Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, Midaya Ceramic Co. (Pvt) Ltd, Spear International (Pvt) Ltd, TJ Associates, and Venora International Projects (Pvt) Ltd, were elected as Committee Members for the year 2022-2023.  

During the period under review, the Council organized events and webinars for the benefit of its members and other companies engaged in doing business with Japan. This included a seminar titled ‘Towards Sri Lankan Manufacturing Excellence – The Dockyard Way’, which featured a keynote address by Mr. H Tanaka, Chairman of Colombo Dockyard PLC, and a webinar titled ‘Beyond COVID-19: Business Opportunities in Japan. The Ambassadors of Japan to Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka to Japan made opening remarks at this webinar, while presentations on Business Opportunities available for Sri Lankan companies in Japan following the COVID-19 pandemic and how Sri Lankan companies could make best use of these opportunities were also featured.