Annual General Meeting 2022 – Sri Lankan Business Council for Dubai and Northern Emirates

SLBC, one of the oldest business councils in Dubai is pleased to announce the successful completion of its Annual General Meeting (AGM), held on 16MAY23 at the Pullman Dubai Creek City Centre Hotel. The event served as a dynamic platform for members to engage in inspiring discussions, foster collaboration, and shape the way forward for the council in the future.

The AGM proved to be a resounding success, exceeding expectations and solidifying the Business council’s position as the pioneer in the business and professional community to facilitate trade and commerce between UAE and Sri Lanka while safeguarding the commercial interests of all stakeholders.

“Back to business” is the mood throughout as we are all back in business after some challenging times” said Riza, the current Chairman.

The Chairman, further in his annual address expressed optimism with the way Dubai has progressed following the recent pandemic and in mentioning as to how Dubai wanted to place itself among the Globe’s top 5 markets in many respects within a decade from now as part of the D33 initiative, which is an aspirational statement of intent by Dubai’s leadership towards the future. He also emphasized that this is an excellent opportunity to our young and dynamic entrepreneurs to take advantage of what this region could offer as we have seen an exponential growth of Sri Lankans coming into the region during the past year.

Keynote address: His Excellency Udaya Indraratne, Sri Lankan Ambassador to UAE in his address to the audience, explained his vision and reiterated that Business council is one of the organisations that is perfectly positioned to support it. He further said, he is fully committed to serving the community and open to new ways of doing things for the benefit of the community. “We value the support from the Business Council to us and the community and they are a great strength to us “said Dinithi Weerasena, Acting Consul General for Dubai & Northern Emirates.

Events update: Director Events, Kethiswaram Singaravel presented a summary of the activities conducted so far and highlighted the plans for the future to ensure that the community continue to engage and network with all the stakeholders to promote trade and commerce. Attendees were impressed by the way the presentations were made using the latest technology.

The overwhelming success of the Annual General Meeting underlines the commitment from the Business Council members to collaborate in order to create the synergy amongst us for greater benefits. “It was overwhelming to see the diverse background as well as business interests amongst those participated” said Suren Swaminathan, veteran in the business community as well the immediate past Chairman.

Members of the Business Councils and special invites were treated to a number of interesting presentations showcasing an array of activities, insightful discussions, and inspiring ideas.