PRESS RELEASE
(Scheduled to be published on 23 Nov. 2023)
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) is proudly organizing the 25th edition of the Presidential Export Awards (PEA) Ceremony today (Thursday, 23rd November 2023) at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) under the patronage of His Excellency the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka,
The Presidential Export Awards stands as the pinnacle of recognition bestowed by H. E. the President upon exporters who have made exceptional contributions to the country’s export sector and economic advancement. This esteemed accolade seeks to honour and acknowledge exporters who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in exports fostering growth in economic
development.
The PEA initiated by the EDB in 1981, and had organized 24 Ceremonies during the past years. In 2023, EDB is planning to organize the 25th PEA Ceremony at the BMICH with the participation of around 1,500 invitees including Hon. Ministers, Diplomatic Corps, Government officials, Award winners as well as exporters.
This year’s awards ceremony is to recognize the country’s best exporters for two financial years viz. 2021/22 and 2022/23. The awards are presented in two main categories with 13 Overall awards and 51 products/services sector awards for each financial year. Further, Merit Awards for the deserving sectors will also be awarded as decided by the Panel of Judges based on the performance of the applicants. The selections for the awards were done by an eminent Panel of Judges headed by the Retired Judge of the Supreme Court.
In line with the new Government Policy Framework, EDB has implemented new strategies to expand Sri Lanka’s exports. Accordingly, initiatives taken by the exporters in the areas of market
diversification, Product diversification, Innovation, Value addition, introduction of indigenous brands to the world, sustainable initiatives in exports, development in regional value chains, etc. were considered while designing the Overall Awards.
The selection process of Award winners is competitive as evaluation is not only based on the export earnings but also on several other criteria, such as value addition for exports, employment creation, growth of export earnings, export proceeds repatriations, environment sustainability &; corporate social responsibility etc.
This year EDB has introduced the online application portal https://pea.edb.gov.lk/ dedicated for Presidential Export Awards. This portal facilitated exporters to submit online applications through this portal. Apart from the application process, interested parties could get all the details of Presidential Export Awards such as award categories, guidelines, evaluation criteria, testimonials given by past winners etc.
The Overall and Product/Services sector award winners will receive the prestigious PEA Trophy and a Certificate. Merit Award winners will receive a Plaque and a certificate. They have the privilege to use the Presidential Export Award “Logo” as a marketing tool for a 3 years periodfrom the award date.
The PEA 2023 is organized by EDB under the guidance and directions of Hon. Dilum Amunugama, State Minister of Investment Promotion and Mr. M. M. Nayeemudeen, Secretary to the Ministry of Investment Promotion.
