Sri Lanka’s economy on firm footing

Walter Liyanarachchi

Amidst all the financial crises, contrary to pessimistic predictions, Sri Lanka’s economy has held firm and moved forward on a broad front, Foreign Ministry Secretary Dr. Palitha Kohona said.

Addressing the business community at the Key Persons’ Forum organized by the Small and Medium Enterprise Development (SMED), a Project of Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL) and Friedrich Naumann Stiftung, he said it is to the credit of the Government that a consistent economic approach has been maintained while external pressures mounted and the demands of the military escalated.

Dr. Kohona said foreign direct investment last year had exceeded US $ 800 million while over 1.5 million expatriates had remitted US $ 3 billion to the country money credited to the LTTE funds by a section of misconceived diaspora for the LTTE to pursue its self-destructive military goal which is totally a mirage, could now be used to enable misled youth to achieve their dreams in some prestigious academic institution, Dr. Kohona said.

“While we managed the economy with care, we continued to maintain our caring social approach. Our social indicators are the envy of the developing world.

“While we are well placed on the UN Human Development index, we are also on the way to achieving Millennium Development goals,” he said.

The Samurdhi Program has contributed significantly to this development and the absolute poverty levels are down to around 15 per cent, Dr. Kohona said.