Ceylon bank chairman holds talk with President Michel |19 October 2012

Just two months after the visit, Bank of Ceylon chairman Dr Gamini Wickramasinghe called on President James Michel at State House in the first week of October 2011 and said after the meeting that Seychelles is set to benefit from Sri Lanka’s expertise in fisheries and a possible line of credit from the Bank of Ceylon, Sri Lanka’s leading bank.

While in Sri Lanka, the president visited the Colombo dockyard and discussed various topics including possibilities of cooperation with the dockyard to meet ever increasing needs in the fields of shipbuilding and ship repair in Seychelles.

It was during that visit that the Sri Lankan government announced it would extend a credit line to Seychelles to use in trade and commercial transactions with Sri Lanka, particularly in boatbuilding ventures.

Dr Gamini Wickramasinghe (left) and President Michel at State House

 “We are here to see how we could help Seychelles, firstly in the fisheries sector and secondly in tourism. We will be doing a feasibility study and assess the business potential Seychelles can have with Sri Lanka,” added Dr Wickramasinghe.

Dr Wickramasinghe said that the Bank of Ceylon will consider how it can help Seychelles in the fisheries and tourism industries. He will also meet officials from the government to discuss the terms of the line of credit.

He also said there will be a feasibility study to determine the potential of the Bank of Ceylon operating in Seychelles – months after Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said his government would consider the possibility of opening a Bank of Ceylon branch here.

“We can see the potential and the bank can join in the country’s development efforts. I think we can mutually benefit from this,” said Dr Wickramasinghe.