Times Of Swaziland: His Majesty ends SRI Lanka visit on a precious note His Majesty ends SRI Lanka visit on a precious note ================================================================================ Martin Dlamini on 16/08/2012 00:00:00 COLOMBO, SRI LANKA – His Majesty the King concluded his three-day state visit to Sri Lanka yesterday with visits to a tractor manufacturing company and a precious stones exchange centre before a barefooted tour of the Gangaramaya Temple. He also had an opportunity to pass by the Independence Square as well as the Parliament of Sri Lanka buildings. The previous evening, the king together with Inkhosikati La- Mahlangu and the Swazi delegation, were hosted to a state banquet at the Presidential House where President Mahinda Rajapa-ksa and the First Lady Madam Shiranthi Rajapaksa had the opportunity to introduce their three sons Namel, Yoshilha and Rohitha to Princes Lindani, Majaha, Ba-ndzile and Bukhosi. Yesterday morning started off with a trip to the gem and jewellery centre where highly expensive jewellery was on display. Sri Lanka is well known for its gem stone deposits and boasts of having the largest sapphire blue stone ever to have been mined in Sri Lanka during the British colonial era, perched at the centre of Queen Elizabeth II’s crown. These were top class Jewellery designers and polishers of precious stones and were not shy to display the various top world awards, including one jeweller who provided the Miss World necklace for the Miss World title of 2006. So passionate are they about their business, one of them named his daughter ‘Precious Stone’. She is now fully involved in her father’s business as a designer. The delegation then moved to Edna Engineering (Pty) Ltd which manufactures minitractors. The group is a subsidiary of a conglomerate of companies which includes Kraft Foods, the producers of sweets and chocolate products. His Majesty urged the company to expand its business to Africa, in particular Swaziland, where the country is ready with factory shells to provide working space for their plant. He said the country could be used as a base to tap into the southern African region where there is huge market potential for their products. The day ended with a luncheon hosted by the Edna Group of Companies. His Majesty left Sri Lanka last night heading for Maputo, Mozambique to attend a SADC Summit. Sri lankan company for Trade Fair COLOMBO, SRI LANKA – On the business front, the Swaziland Investment Promotion Authority (SIPA) was satisfied with the interest shown by the Sri Lanka business sector towards Swaziland. One of the companies has committed itself to participating in this year’s Trade Fair where it will showcase its products. SIPA Director of Research and Policy Analysis, Zizwe Vilane said they had scheduled late evening meetings with the businesspeople and the Minister for Commerce Industry and Trade Jabulile Mashwama who was part of the local delegation. This was after His Majesty’s tour of the Edna Group of companies which own Edna Engineering, a tractor manufacturing company visited by His Majesty yesterday. "There were many valuables for us in the business sector, especially receiving interest from partners who want to assemble tractors. We are meeting in the next 45 minutes to discuss what can be provide at home in terms of infrastructure such as factory shells. Some discussions will be around agriculture and they will be at the Trade Fair showcasing their products, so these are very positive developments for us," he said. The Director General of the Research Station, George Ndlangamandla said Swazi farmers could benefit a great deal through the products that the Edna Engineering company will be bringing to Swaziland. He said although their products are not exclusive, they will provide a variety and price competitiveness for the local market. "If all goes well, in the area of value addition in fruits and vegetables, they are well advanced in processing. Swazi farmers are currently growing and selling the products straight from the fields yet they could yield more returns on their harvest if these were sold as finished products. "We are eager to develop processing and how they ensure consistent supply of the products as they say their farmers are very reliable which cannot be said of our farmers given the experience of NAMBoard," he said. Ndlangamandla said they also look to cooperate in training veterinarians as Sri Lanka appears to be well capacitated in this area. ------------------------- COMMENTS: - Why is the country alignining itself with controvential and insignificant countries like Sri Lanka? Not long ago we singed agreements with Equatorial Guinea, a country known for human rights violations and corruption. Or maybe this is where our anonymous donors come from? What happened to the oil deal the country entered with Equatorial Guinea? August 16, 2012, 6:28 pm, D.M. Dludlu (dmdludlu@ymail.com) - Bosting about the Country (Sri Lanka) is not what the king want to hear. If these Kings hear that The Electorate ( Hambantota, Tangalle) , that the President and his son came to politics Is NOT HAVING WATER TO DRINK EVEN AND NOT HAVING ELECTRICITY TO DO THE DAY TO DAY WORK. ALSO uNEMPLOYEMENT RATE IS VERY HIGH, ALL THE kINGS WILL RUN AWAY. Shame. August16, 2012, 6:28 pm, hansan (hdk@ymail.com)