The current regime in Sri Lanka is aggressively seeking foreign direct investments (FDIs) from Germany to create sustainable growth.
“Sri Lanka has long been a paradise for German tourists, and we are now making it a paradise for German investors,” Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera said during a lecture at the German Council on Foreign Relations, NewsNow reported.
He said that with relatively well developed infrastructure and human capital, the immediate priority is to reset the investment climate by making Sri Lanka the most secure, efficient and competitive investment destination in South Asia.
“The new Sri Lankan economic policies have also been calibrated to serve the interests of our people. Post-war growth was unsustainably propelled by consumption and construction. Our policy is to create sustainable growth by unlocking Sri Lanka’s long untapped economic potential through foreign direct investment, trade and tourism,” he said.
The recent interim budget however, was geared towards a massive boost in consumption. Some said that this was in order to buy time for FDIs to flow in and stimulate the export sector. The government is also attempting to have German multi-nationals relocate from India.
Samaraweera noted that the re-established independence of the judiciary and the creation of a rule-based system will let all companies enjoy a level-playing field, where merit will be the sole criterion of success, unlike the past. He said that regulations are being revised with the input of all stakeholders in order to rapidly improve the World Bank’s ease of doing business index, while the one stop investment shop will be revived as well.
She hoped that while things are being put right locally, the number of German visitors that exceeds 100,000 annually will continue to increase. “Sri Lanka climbed 11 places on the Tourism Competitiveness Index this year and we hope to build on that success in the coming years and resorts in the previously war-ridden eastern province where many of Sri Lanka’s finest beaches are found opened recently.”
He further added that Sri Lanka has much to learn from the social market economy practiced in Germany.
