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Bangladesh, Sri Lanka to launch joint tourism initiative

NNB Desk: Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are gearing up to develop a joint tourism initiative, recognising the significant role that tourism plays in the economies of the two countries.

As Sri Lanka has expressed its interest in collaborating with Bangladesh on developing green tourism, Bangladesh proposed to develop joint tourism initiatives, including tea and Buddhist tourism circuits and to finalise an MoU on tourism cooperation.

The ideas were shared during the foreign office consultation (FOC) between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh held in Colombo Thursday (November 6), according to a statement of the foreign ministry.

Aruni Ranaraja, secretary of Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism and Asad Alam Siam, foreign secretary of Bangladesh, co-chaired the consultation.

More than two million international tourists visited Sri Lanka in 2024.

Bangladesh, compared to that, does not attract many tourists despite the fact that it has the world’s longest coast and the mangrove forest, the Sundarbans. Its annual tourists range between six and seven lakh.

The two countries also explored the need to strengthen the shipping sector, with the potential to establish port connectivity between Chattogram and Colombo.

Sri Lanka invited Bangladeshi investors to invest in development projects, logistics services, cultivation, and tourism-related businesses.

They also discussed opportunities to expand collaboration in banking services to contribute to financial stability and economic well-being.

Bangladesh invited further investments from Sri Lanka in its EPZs, SEZs, and API Industrial Parks, especially in high-potential sectors including pharmaceuticals, hospitality, tourism, automobiles and light engineering, ICT, renewable energy, agro-processing, leather, and footwear.

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