The statement was made by Amunugama during a workshop held in the capital city of Colombo on March 30 to explore the potential for economic cooperation between Vietnam and Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankan minister emphasized many similarities between the two countries and favourable conditions that need exploiting to boost mutual assistance in bilateral economic cooperation and in overcoming challenges presented by the world economic situation.
Addressing the workshop, Vietnamese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Ton Sinh Thanh highlighted advantages in bilateral economic cooperation since the Vietnamese embassy was opened in Colombo one year ago, especially after the state-level visit to Sri Lanka by President Truong Tan Sang in October 2011.
Thanh also pointed out obstacles and challenges that officials, experts, researchers and business should cooperate to address.
He proposed delegates to the workshop discuss effective measures, the implementation of signed agreements, and preparations for a joint committee meeting between the two countries scheduled to take place in Hanoi this year.
Participants heard 10 keynote speeches by economists, especially in trade, investment, and tourism.
They raised their ideas about joint-business forums, fact-finding tours, and connections via aviation, sea and banking, as well as preferential tariffs, aimed at raising bilateral trade revenues to US$1 billion in the coming years.
The workshop was held in the context of Sri Lanka organizing a large consumer expo, which has captured great attention from the local media.
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