Port City Colombo welcomes high-level Omani delegation

Port City Colombo received a high-level delegation from the Sultanate of Oman earlier this month, marking a further step in strengthening investment ties between the two countries.

The delegation was led by His Excellency Pankaj Khimji, Advisor for Foreign Trade and International Cooperation at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion of the Sultanate of Oman, and included His Excellency Ahmed Al Rashdi, Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to Sri Lanka, and Moosa Al Kharusi, Projects Division Director at the Advisor’s Office of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion.

The visit follows Port City Colombo’s engagement in Muscat earlier this year, where the Colombo Port City Economic Commission and CHEC Port City Colombo conducted an investor forum and held meetings with key Omani government and business stakeholders, including the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ) and Invest Oman.

The engagement at Port City Colombo centred on a roundtable discussion covering bilateral investment opportunities, the Oman–South Asia Investment and Trade Corridor, institutional collaboration between the respective Special Economic Zones of the two countries, and the process of onboarding Omani companies into Port City Colombo’s SEZ ecosystem.

Revan Wickramasuriya, Director General of the Colombo Port City Economic Commission, said all investors are treated equitably under the Commission’s regulatory framework, which is designed to support business activity with clarity, consistency and institutional credibility, regardless of the size or origin of the investment.

Delivering the guest of honour address, Pankaj Khimji, Royal Advisor for Foreign Trade and International Cooperation of the Sultanate of Oman and Director of the Khimji Ramdas Group, said the existing bilateral trade relationship provided a strong foundation for further growth.

He noted that bilateral trade turnover had reached approximately USD 223 million in 2022, nearly double the USD 118 million recorded in 2018, while emphasising that these figures should serve as a starting point rather than an ambition.

“From friendship to enterprise; from connectivity to commerce; and from political goodwill to measurable investment and trade – this is where the next chapter of Oman–Sri Lanka relations must be written,” he said. “Let us build that corridor together.”

The visit reinforces the growing strategic alignment between Oman and Sri Lanka. Port City Colombo, Sri Lanka’s purpose-built Special Economic Zone governed under the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act No. 11 of 2021, offers Omani businesses an internationally benchmarked platform from which to establish operations, access South Asian markets and build on the existing bilateral commercial relationship.

The engagement forms part of Port City Colombo’s broader Gulf outreach programme. With more than 175 companies now registered within the SEZ and over USD 1 billion in investment secured between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the second quarter of 2026, Port City Colombo’s growing international profile continues to attract interest from across the Gulf region and beyond.