Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Minister Sunil Handunneththi has held talks with Michael Otter, Director General of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WKO), in Vienna, where the two sides confirmed an Austrian Trade Mission will visit Sri Lanka in mid-September 2026.
The meeting was held on the sidelines of the International Vienna Energy and Climate Forum 2026 and was attended by WKO Regional Director for Asia and Oceania, Markus Haas, and Sri Lanka’s Chargé d’Affaires in Austria, Mahesh Gunawardana.
Handunneththi briefed the Austrian delegation on Sri Lanka’s economic recovery and nine specialised industrial zones designed to attract high-technology investment, according to a statement released through Sri Lanka’s Vienna mission and reported by Newswire. The talks covered bilateral trade strengths, priority sectors for market expansion, and business-to-business linkages.
Both sides discussed the shift toward high-value-added exports and maximising the benefits of the EU Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) framework. Otter described the planned September mission as a significant opportunity to deepen commercial cooperation.
The minister also invited Austrian firms to participate in Sri Lanka Expo 2026, scheduled in Colombo. The event is expected to feature more than 750 exhibitors and host over 1,500 international buyers.
The Austrian engagement comes as France separately signalled a positive outlook on Sri Lanka’s GSP+ application during a French Senate delegation visit this week — two EU member states publicly supporting the renewal in the same scan cycle.
