The Ambassador of Maldives, Hussein Shareef, will be the Guest Speaker at a session on Bilateral Trade between Sri Lanka & Maldives’ organized by the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka, on Tuesday 26 June 2018 , from 3p.m to 4.30p.m at the Chamber Auditorium No, 450, D. R. Wijewardena Mawatha, Colombo 10. The ambassador will be accompanied by the Counsellor and senior officials of the Embassy. At the session the participants will get an opportunity to speak with the Ambassador of Maldives and the officials. Maldives, located only about 700 kilometers south west of Sri Lanka, is made up of 1,200 coral islands with only 198 inhabited, and rest vacant. Land is only around 8 ft above sea level and is the lowest country in the world. People travel in boats from one island to the other. With a population of around 4 million, Maldives’ principal activities are tourism and fishing. Maldives Fish remains a major import to Sri Lanka. Today Sri Lanka exports nearly 250 to 300 products to Maldives, such as fruits and vegetable, electrical items, construction products, confectionary items, mineral water, tea, wooden furniture, etc. Statistics reveal that majority of Sri Lankan supplies to Maldives are SMEs. Maldives has less trade barriers; consisting of a small land area with business offices located centred in the Capital, Male. Business could be concluded, covering all offices within two days. There is a demand for high-quality consumer goods, including food and electronic equipment, and has potential to export items such as fresh fruit, vegetables, coconut and rubber products, vegetable fats, Plastic products, etc. Sri Lanka also has potential in areas such as travel and tourism/hotel, in the Maldives. Supply of skilled workers to Maldives is another area that Sri Lanka could promote in Maldives.