Some of the American firms joining the delegation are Fortune 500 companies such as Coca-Cola, Caterpillar, GE, DuPont, 3M, UPS and Kimberly-Clark, American Chambers of Commerce (AmCham) in Colombo said in a statement.

Other companies include Parsons Brinckerhoff, Sikorsky Aircrafts Corporation, Fiserv, Rockwell Automation, Western Union and Rashed Kanchan Corporation.

They represent diverse business interests which include fast moving consumer goods, infrastructure, food and beverages, healthcare, plastics such as engineering polymers, the defense sector, home care products, and military and commercial helicopters.

The visit of the business delegation, who are members of the Asia-Pacific Council of American Chambers of Commerce (APCAC) is supported by the US and Sri Lankan governments.

During their October 12-14 visit the delegation will call on President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake and senior ministers.

The discussion will centre on investment and business opportunities in Sri Lanka in the new business environment in post-conflict Sri Lanka.

Some of the sectors, which will receive special attention during our dialogue, are infrastructure, healthcare, information technology, agriculture and food processing and financial services.

A 16-member APCAC-AMCHAM delegation is led by Atul Singh, Vice Chairman, South Asia of the Asia-Pacific Council of American Chambers of Commerce and chief executive of Coca-Cola India.

The Asia-Pacific Council of American Chambers of Commerce consists of 27 member AmChams in 21 economies. It represents the growing interests of over 10,000 business entities and over 50,000 business executives in the region.