Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today delivered the Economic Policy Statement in Parliament and clarified the current status of Sri Lanka’s economy and the way forward for his government and the people.
He stated that the challenge faced today is to sustain what they have built, and strengthening the economy.
He stated that this task has two prongs. The first is to stabilise the economy creating a country free of debt for our future generations. The second is to expand the economy giving all Sri Lankans the chance for prosperity.
“We have relied on the public sector for too long ignoring the private sector. We have scared away private investments with unclear policies and complicated procedures for too long,” he said.
The PM said that the effort of the government is to create an economy firmly based on foreign and domestic private investment, driven by a dynamic and forward-looking private sector.
He said that to kick-start this transformation, the government will implement a comprehensive economic strategy over the next three years.
“We intend to raise per capita income to USD 5000 per year. We hope to create one million new jobs.
Our target is to increase foreign direct investment to USD 5 billion per year. We plan to double the exports to USD 20 billion per year.”
Wickremesinghe said that the goal of these development strategies is improving the lives of the average Sri Lankans. “Thus we will strive for two basic economic outcomes: Increasing and improving jobs. Raising incomes and expanding the middle class.”
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