COLOMBO, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan government is to kick off a program to promote the country's popular batik and handloom products to global markets in order to reboot local handloom industry, which is hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A senior official from the State Ministry of Batik, Handloom and Local Apparel Products told Xinhua on Monday that the program will be launched soon through the Sri Lankan diplomatic missions overseas.
Recently Foreign Minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris said at a session about the program that Sri Lankan indigenous products were an outcome of creativity of the people and their promotion abroad will directly uplift the economy at grassroots levels.
State Minister of Batik, Handloom and Local Apparel Products Dayasiri Jayasekara requested the Sri Lankan diplomats to vigorously promote the country's batik and handloom products in their respective countries of accreditation and presented samples for displaying at missions and events.
The Sri Lankan government had set an export target for the batik, handloom, and local apparel industry at 6 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, but the country was unable to reach this target due to the pandemic. ■