Sri Lanka is a natural hub and a point of logistics, transshipment from ancient days and the country will be the key point in the shipping industry, said chief guest Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Harsha De Silva speaking at WISTA – CASA Asia Shipping Conference 2016 at Kingsbury hotel recently.
“This country is open for you to invest, market, to bring business here,” the minister said.
The minister invited foreign delegates who attended this international conference to invest in the country so that they can benefit from it.
“The government is very clear in its thinking and the government is attempting to change the way we work in terms of promoting trade. You will see increase in business here and if things move positively you will surpass your targets. The increase you would see 50 to 100 percent,” the minister said.
Shehara Jayawardana, Group Joint Managing Director, McLarens Holdings Limited and President of WISTA Sri Lanka speaking to Daily News Business said, “This is the first time an international shipping conference that was held in Sri Lanka and this was jointly organized by Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA) Sri Lanka, Ceylon Association of Shipping Agents (CASA) and Young Shipping Professionals (YSP).”
“At this shipping conference there was an equal number of male and female speakers of the shipping industry participated and shared their ideas about the shipping industry. This time so many foreign delegates who are attached to shipping industry participated in this conference. Shipping is a broad area and this time we are talking about maritime law, crewing, siphoning and so many different topics,” she said.
“Sri Lanka has so much potential and the government and the private sector should come forward to take the shipping industry forward and there are so many things to be done. We should have a maritime policy and at the moment we don’t have such a maritime policy. We should have more capacity in our ports and we should update our maritime laws, then we can move forward with the shipping industry in the world,” she said.
“WISTA wants to promote more females in the shipping industry and we are working with the universities to promote the shipping industry among young females. There are promising female students at some universities who are keen in joining the industry,” she said.
The Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA) is an international organization for women in management positions involved in the maritime transportation business and related trades worldwide. WISTA is a major player in attracting more women to the industry and in supporting women in management positions.
