The Sri Lanka – Italy Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce held its 18th Annual General Meeting at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce on 22nd June 2017. His Excellency Paolo Andrea Bartorelli, Italian Ambassador to Sri Lanka was the Chief Guest at this occasion.

D. R. P Abeyasinghe, Chief Executive Officer, Hydromec International (Pvt) Ltd was re-elected as the President of the Council. Mr. Abeyasinghe has a Mechanical Engineering background.  The latter part of his career however has been devoted to the marketing and commercial aspects of dealing in Earth Moving and Materials Handling Machinery and Equipment.

Abeyasinghe in his address highlighted the achievements of the Sri Lanka – Italy Business Council during the year 2016-2017 under his leadership. These included the organization of meetings with Italian Business delegations that visited the country during the period under review, including the Business Delegation that had accompanied the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy Hon. Benedetto Della Vedova on his official visit to Sri Lanka. A Breakfast Meeting with Mr. Upul Jayasuriya, Chairman, Board of Investment of Sri Lanka; Annual Members’ Night and the Italian Language Course run for Beginners & Advanced Learners were also highlighted.

His Excellency Paolo Andrea Bartorelli in his comments made at the Annual General Meeting reassured the Council of the continued support of the Italian Embassy in Sri Lanka to promote bilateral trade between Sri Lanka and Italy.

Mrs. Sonali Liyanamana, Chief Executive Officer, Interglobe – Worldlink Air Services (Pvt) Ltd, and Mr. Anushka Polonowita, General Manager, Euro Sports Auto Lanka (Pte) Ltd., Subsidiary of Micro Holdings (Pvt) Ltd. were elected Vice Presidents of the Council.

A Baur & Co. Ltd., Ally Weerasinghe Ltd, DFCC Bank PLC, JAT Holdings (Pvt) Ltd., Lanka Tiles PLC, Spear International (Pvt) Ltd., The Autodrome PLC, Walkers Tours Ltd. were elected from the membership to serve on the Executive Committee of the Council.