Intellectual rights of innovators must be protected - Butenis

US exports to Sri Lanka have increased by over 40% so far this year US Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives Patricia A. Butenis said.

Speaking at the Amcham Annual General Meeting at Colombo Hilton she said United States has a huge trade deficit with Sri Lanka, since they import over $1.7 billion dollars in Sri Lankan goods, and only exported $180 million to Sri Lanka in 2010.

“That’s a big deficit, over $1.5 billion dollars, and we would like trade to be more balanced by increasing US exports,” she said.

There is no doubt that Sri Lanka’s economy is strong, with 8% GDP growth, increased tourist arrivals, and heavy investor interest in Sri Lankan government bonds and the country has a golden opportunity to build a robust economy that brings economic opportunity for all Sri Lankans, and thus ameliorate one of the root causes of the conflict.

“Sri Lanka has a once in a generation opportunity to break free of the old constraints and get back to where it should be,” she said. Sri Lanka Government has very ambitious goals, to double per capita GDP to $4,000, to attract 2.5 million tourists, and to develop ports, aviation, energy, knowledge, and commercial hubs to transform the economy. The Government has made some important changes to support business, with a huge effort to improve infrastructure, and tax reform in the 2011 budget.

“But government can’t do it alone. The private sector has a key role, since you know the trends in your businesses and see the changes in the markets much sooner than the government,”she said.

Sri Lanka aspires to become a knowledge hub and one key to building it is protecting intellectual property to ensure that innovators are properly rewarded for their work and creativity.

The Amcham, the Embassy and the Government of Sri Lanka have worked together to protect intellectual property rights. The Government has established a unit in the police force to combat the selling of pirated goods, and they, with the help of private industry, have conducted raids on establishments selling pirated goods.

(SS)