Asian Filmfestival

Paradise

April 2022, Sri Lanka is imploding as a result of a political crisis. Young Indian director Kesav takes his wife Amritha to an island paradise to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary. He thinks that it is cheaper to travel as a tourist and that they are doing the locals a favor. But their journey takes an unexpected turn that reveals cracks in their relationship.

Prasanna Vithanage is undoubtedly one of Sri Lanka’s most prominent directors today. His latest film Paradise shows his ability to examine the balance of power both on a private and collective level.

https://www.biljettkiosken.se/event/240321-asiatiskaff-paradise_qa

75 YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP CELEBRATED

8th Feb Sweden Sri Lanka Business Council – SSLBC arranged an extended members meeting. Plus 60 Swedish and Sri Lankan business people met for dinner and a speech by former Swedish ambassador Lars-Olof Lindgren. Honorary General Consul Sanjay Kulatange was one of the guests as well. Secretary General Leif I Ohlson welcomed the guests and mentioned that this year Sweden and Sri Lanka celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations and that the council wanted to kickstart this important year.

Ambassador Lindgren spoke about the strong relations between the two countries and also looked into the future.

Later this year Swedish Embassy in New Dehli will arrange an event in Colombo to celebrate more officially.

Pics by nilanthaphotography@gmail.com

Ambassador Lars-Olof Lindgren

Pics by nilanthaphotography@gmail.com

Leif I Ohlson, Kerstin Thulin, Lars-Olof LIndgren, Sanjay Kulatunga, Anura Dewapura

Sri Lanka in Swedish Radio

https://sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/den-enes-dod-den-andres-brod-naila-saleem-stockholm

Stockholm Monday

One man’s death, another man’s bread, they say. Take the latest Houthi rebel-led attacks on ships in the Red Sea. Geopolitics that, one might argue, have nothing to do with a textile worker in Bangladesh.

But soon it has to do with just one underpaid textile worker in Bangladesh. Because when the shipment of our knitted sweaters runs into obstacles, it doesn’t take long for the problem to end up on the factory floor again like a boomerang.

And there on the floor there is already a lot of grumbling. A new minimum wage agreement has been concluded and the workers are not satisfied with the scarce 1200 kroner a month that the new wage is. Last fall, they took to the streets of the capital Dhaka and protested.

After all, Bangladesh is one of the world’s largest clothing producers, and for the industry, low costs and short lead times are essential. While the textile manufacturers in Dhaka’s suburbs are now thinking about how to deal with skyrocketing shipping costs for the clothes they sell to Europe and North America, it’s all the happier. in neighboring Sri Lanka.

The port in the capital, Colombo, has received so many requests in recent weeks, as shipping companies reschedule their routes, that they have to say no thanks to customers, local media reports.

Sri Lanka’s strategic location is the big selling point for those who ship goods west and east. And there are both concrete plans and great hopes that the country will be able to make even more money in this particular situation. One of India’s richest men, Gautam Adani, has begun constructing another terminal at the port. The US Development Bank has said it is willing to act as a co-financier. In the same port there is also a Chinese terminal. Geopolitics can hardly be clearer than that. Through loans and investments, the three countries have long tried to increase their influence over those in power in the capital, Colombo.

For Sri Lanka, which is trying to recover from the country’s worst economic crisis ever, more business and investment is infinitely welcome even if it is due to Houthi attacks and a crisis in the Middle East. The International Monetary Fund, which continuously evaluates the government’s reform work, said the other day that it sees signs that the economy is starting to recover, but that it has not yet led to improved living conditions for the population.

One of the government’s moves to get the country back on its feet has been to increase the tax burden. One trade union after another has been protesting on the streets of Colombo for the past year against the fact that the burden of the economic crisis is falling on the population instead of the corrupt elite. Last week, it was the healthcare workers’ turn to carry out a nationwide one-day strike.

Naila Saleem South Asia Correspondent

naila.saleem@sverigesradio.se

Nyheter inom energi

Sri Lanka awards $1.7 billion solar project to Australian fi ..

Read more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/105929874.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Construction of hybrid renewable energy systems in Jaffna

https://www.dailynews.lk/2023/12/12/admin-catagories/breaking-news/289214/construction-of-hybrid-renewable-energy-systems-in-jaffna/

Solar power project to be installed on the surface of Poonakari reservoir

https://www.dailynews.lk/2023/12/12/admin-catagories/breaking-news/289232/solar-power-project-to-be-installed-on-the-surface-of-poonakari-reservoir/

Three Quick Ones – Linda Lundberg-Nilsson

3 quick questions for Linda Lundberg-Nilsson, CEO of the Norrbottens Handelskammare, Sweden’s northernmost and second oldest, founded in 1904. She comes from a family of entrepreneurs and has extensive experience in export trade but also in working at multinationals. Six years ago, Linda became CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, which is highly involved in the green reindustrialization that is transforming Swedish business and society. In this role, she has also hosted trade delegations from Sri Lanka.

1. What are the main tasks of the Norrbotten Chamber of Commerce?
Given our geographical location, infrastructure issues are top priority. We work intensively on advocacy to shorten distances to our members’ main markets on the continent. A concrete example is the extension of the Scanmed corridor from Sicily and Stockholm to Luleå and the ice-free harbor in Narvik, Norway. This issue has become even more important in recent years for geopolitical reasons. The next area is skills development. We will receive 100,000 global talents in northern Sweden the coming years. Facilitating migration from third countries is crucial to our success. The third area is international trade. Through our global network of 12,000 international chambers of commerce, we help companies expand their business by internationalizing and reaching new markets.

2. What are the region of Norrbotten’s main assets?
We are very well positioned for the radical transformation of Swedish society and industry that we are about to undertake. We have great resources of ore and minerals, raw materials that are necessary for the electrification of society’s transport system but also in constructions such as wind turbines. Norrbotten is an export intense region with a resource-based economy and a large primary industry sector such as timber, mining and minerals. Norrbotten has also been the backbone of Swedish hydropower for more than 100 years. We further have world-leading research and companies in wood construction, green steel, IT and tourism.

3. How can trade with Sri Lanka increase?
We have already received the first trade delegations from Sri Lanka and we welcome more, not least from the Sri Lankan IT sector. We want to contribute to concrete business but there is work to be done before we meet. Business leaders must have done their homework and understand that there are many opportunities in Norrbotten, but that the competition is global. This requires clear decisions to invest strategically – it is costly to make mistakes. The requirements specification also needs to be clear. Do you want to establish a subsidiary, an agent, or a retailer? This systematic approach applies regardless of whether it is about importing to Norrbotten or exporting to Sri Lanka. And finally, we would like to see many of the global talents that we will welcome in the coming years come from Sri Lanka.