MR meets Chinese Trade minister
editor on 07 August, 2008 14:40:41 | 516 times read
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Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse who is on an official visit to China has met Chinese Trade Minister Chen Demin. The meeting on Thursday focused on bilateral economic relations. At the start of the meeting the Sri Lankan President thanked China for its enthusiastic support for development projects in Sri Lanka. The Chinese Minister said they would also invest in new projects such as the Colombo-Katunayake expressway, second and third stages of the coal power plant in Puttalam and the fuel storage project in Hambantota. He also pledged to strengthen trade relations between the two countries including bilateral exports. The Chinese Trade Minister said the fourth stage of the trade agreement with Sri Lanka will conclude soon. He agreed to consider the continuation of tax benefits for tea exports from Sri Lanka which account for 23 percent of Sri Lankan exports to China. The Sri Lankan President and the Chinese Minister also discussed on Sri Lanka’s participation in the forthcoming China international investment and trade fair. The Chinese Minister agreed to visit Sri Lanka to observe the progress of projects implemented under Chinese investments. The visiting Sri Lankan President also held a discussion with Chinese Minister of Industries and Information Li Yishong. The aim of the discussion was to increase bilateral cooperation in advanced technology. President Rajapakse requested the Chinese Minister to encourage Chinese investors to promote Information Technology in rural areas of Sri Lanka.
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