'It is profitable in your own self-interest to invest in Sri Lanka.'

He noted that the global recession had left China and India relatively unscathed, but still the effects continued to linger.

'It is even more difficult for me to make this appeal to you in such circumstances. That's why I decided to talk to your sense of business entrepreneurship; to your sense of business adventure coupled with self-interest,' said Dissanayake.

Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India C.R. Jayasinghe said due to the free trade agreement signed between the countries, bilateral trade volume had gone up from $600 million to $3.2 billion last year.