ADB Chief concurs that Sri Lanka could become the “Miracle of Asia”, says Treasury head
Asian Development Board (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao, who visited Sri Lanka two weeks back, was so impressed with Sri Lanka that he believed the country would be the ‘Miracle of Asia”.
According to Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundera, the ADB President sent him a personal note (after the visit) indicating that, “Here is a country that would become the miracle of Asia.”
Dr. Jayasundara was speaking at the 44th Sri Lanka Shippers’ Council (SLPC) held last week in Colombo. About half of his speech he devoted to the tour he made with the ADB President, going to Kandy, Dambulla, Sigiriya, Habarana, Maradankadawala, Kalawewa, Tambuththegama, etc and said that the ADB President was elated to see the country’s progress the roads, infrastructure, etc which were commented on as superb.
He said that the country, including media should speak loud and clear that there was no human rights violations in Sri Lanka, because “You have seen peace in the country, the country lagged behind, economically and our nation was behind everybody.”The apparel industry is a 10 billion dollar industry today, he said, adding that soon this industry would be among the top 10 in the world. He expressed the hope that with the petroleum exploration succeeding, the country’s fuel imports valued at $5 billion could be eliminated.
He also referred to the motor spare parts manufacturing in the country and noted that it would be beneficial to replace the under-valued vehicle imports.
The way the country is progressing would lead to the country being soon aligned with some developed countries in Asia like Indonesia, Thailand.
Inflation is under 5 per cent for the last six months and is maintained at a single digit; the exchange rate is flexible, but is stable, he said.
He said the reserves are at $9 billion now. He said that money is flowing in and rejected claims by those who say the debt is at 101 per cent. Plenty of money is coming up and the loans are obtained at the cheapest rates. Compared to other places, he pointed out that in some places banks have collapsed, inflation has gone out of control and many countries are facing all sorts of problems.On claims of unemployment now, Dr Jayasundera said employment has shot up drastically. He said that there is a group of 75,000 young people involved in the ICT industry and each of them earn in the range of Rs. 100,000.
Sean Van Dort, incoming Chairman, Sri Lanka Shippers’ Council, dwelled upon on a struggle they were involved for 18 long years – a competitive issue in the international market as a result of unethical, uncompetitive, non-market friendly methods by some service providers who were imposing various charges and surcharges on the trade.
He said that ultimately the matter was resolved and the government has backed them and formulated a regulatory mechanism that provides accountability and transparency.