Sri Lanka to open honorary consulate in Kerala

A honorary consulate of Sri Lanka will be opened in the Kerala capital Wednesday by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.

Speaking to IANS, A. Jayaprakash, advisor to the honorary counsul Joemon Joseph, said this new beginning will be a boost for business between Kerala and Sri Lanka.

"Tourism is one business that will get a major boost both in Kerala and Sri Lanka as people from both these places do travel up and down. Another important gain would be for the business community as there would be more trade and business activities," said Jayaprakash.

In the run-up to the official clearing of the consular office of Sri Lanka here, the major point of discussion was on how this new office could help in boosting trade and commerce.

"Coconut is one product that Sri Lanka is doing a lot of value addition to. Here in Kerala, coconut is an important cash crop and there are companies in Sri Lanka which are looking forward for engaging in doing value addition to coconut here," added Jayaprakash.

Currently there are two Sri Lankan consulates functioning in Chennai and Mumbai besides two honorary consulates in Bangalore and Kolkata. The one in Kolkata is all set to be upgraded to a full-fledged consulate soon.

Trade circles in Kerala also appear to be in a buoyant mood as today in Sri Lanka, Chinese companies have made major inroads in all sectors and the industry here is looking to Sri Lanka as a possible new business centre.