Sri Lanka’s Economy Poised To Leapfrog After Years Of Conflict, Says Finance Minister
Sri Lanka under the unity government headed by President Maithripala Sirisena and the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe is poised to leapfrog the economy after long years of conflict and political instability, according to the nation’s Finance Minister.
The Minister of Finance and Mass Media Mangla Samaraweera stated this when he met with the Vice President of the World Bank Ms. Annette Dixon in Washington on the sideline to the WB/IMF annual conference being held in Washington.
Ms. Annette Dixon has been in the current position since December 2014, in managing the World Bank’s engagement in South Asia to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. She is also mandated to lead relations with eight countries including India, the institution’s biggest client. She oversees lending operations and Trust-Funded projects worth more than USD 10 billion.
Minister Samaraweera said that the Sri Lankan Unity Government has been addressing key democratization issues with such democratic institutions maintain on checks and balances which are becoming deeply rooted.
“We are celebrating 70 years of Parliamentary democracy in Sri Lanka this year and the economy will be revitalized on the strong pillars of reconciliation and democracy with far reaching reforms,” the Minister emphasized.
The Minister also briefed Ms. Dixon on Sri Lanka’s current political and economic dynamics. The Government’s policy plan for next eight years was announced recently with the title “V2025 – A Country Enriched” with an open mind. It envisages economic prosperity for all Sri Lankans, based on the principles of a social market economy. With that in mind, Minister Samaraweera said that his maiden Budget Proposals for 2018 will be presented to the Parliament on 9th November.
Sri Lanka intends to strengthen the policies suitable for a higher middle income, export-oriented economy. In order to achieve this target, the Finance Ministry has been convening high-level meetings with the public and private sector stakeholders while gathering innovative ideas from diverse partners in order to broaden the scope.