All Regions and All Sectors

Interview:Upul Jayasuriya What are the key constraints Sri Lanka faces in attracting foreign direct investments (FDI)? UPUL JAYASURIYA: Overall Sri Lanka is in an advantageous position to attract FDI. Doing business here is much easier than in any other country in South Asia. Our labour force is skilled, efficient and friendly. Infrastructural facilities have been improving year after year.…

Interview:Ugo Astuto How would you rate Sri Lanka’s progress on human rights following its decades-long civil war? UGO ASTUTO: The progress has been remarkable. Sri Lanka co-sponsored a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council in September 2015. This is only the starting point for what needs to be a sustained path of reconciliation. There must be concerted action to address the root causes…

Interview:Samantha Ranatunga What are the most important issues for the private sector in Sri Lanka in 2016? SAMANTHA RANATUNGA: The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce has a heritage going back over 170 years and includes 8000 indirect and direct members and 550 established institutions. From their perspective, the last year has been very challenging. A fair amount of disconnect was produced in certain…

Interview: Razeen Sally On which points do you see a need for Sri Lanka to embrace a more liberal economic approach? RAZEEN SALLY: On the subject of trade, there are three issues to address. The first is the thicket of non-tariff barriers that, in my opinion, have increased protections over imports, and to some extent exports, by a factor of two over the last decade. This has caused huge distortions…

Interview:Harsha de Silva How do you see Sri Lanka’s economic diplomacy going forward in the coming years? HARSHA DE SILVA: The prime minister articulated an economic policy plan in November 2015 addressing Sri Lanka’s economic priorities looking over the next few years. Having successfully resolved a number of issues with Western countries with regards to human rights, we feel we are able…