Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Indonesia and ASEAN, Yasoja Gunasekera met with the Indonesian Deputy Minister for Production and Marketing Victoria Simanungkalit at the Sri Lanka Embassy in Jakarta on 12 November 2020.

The meeting hailed the cordial bilateral relations that exist between the two countries and underscored the importance of cooperation in the small and medium enterprises sector, which could provide a significant contribution to economic development in both countries.

The meeting touched upon the highlights of the recent meeting between State Minister for Regional Cooperation Tharaka Balasuriya and Indonesian Ambassador in Colombo  I Gusti Ngurah Ardiyasa and in which the  State Minister sought Indonesian assistance towards the establishment of a Batik village and Indonesian style coffee outlets in Sri Lanka. This request for technical assistance from Indonesia was reiterated by Ambassador Gunasekera at the meeting and was welcomed by the Indonesian Deputy Minister for Production and Marketing.

During the interaction, Ambassador Gunasekera sought information regarding the strategies and best practices of Indonesia in the SMEs sector and requested technical assistance from Indonesia to develop the SMEs sector in Sri Lanka. She discussed the implementation of the MoU between National Crafts of Sri Lanka and the Marketing Service Agency for the Small and Medium Enterprises and Cooperatives of Indonesia Concerning Traditional Industrial Cooperation which was signed in 2017 during a state visit to Indonesia.

Deputy Minister Victoria Simanungkalit shared Indonesian best practices in small and medium enterprises sector and expressed interest in organizing a webinar to share experience and knowledge in the SMEs sector between key officials of the two countries.