Leverage on the opportunities without boasting about the strategic location of Sri Lanka
For over a decade, Sri Lanka and the people of the country have been hearing thoughts that the country should be made a hub in various sectors by the political fraternity whereas nothing or no improvement have happened so far.
Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama at an event in Colombo said that having a strategic geographic location is not enough. “We have to put the key building blocks in place to leverage on the opportunities.”
He made this comment at the launch of the Multi Country Consolidation (MCC) project by the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GATF) at the Hilton Residence in Colombo on Wednesday.
Investors must find Sri Lanka an attractive gateway to the Indian subcontinent, West Asia, Africa and Far East. MCC will be the next building block which will give Sri Lanka a new edge as a trade and logistics hub, he said.
GATF has chosen Sri Lanka as the second country in Asia after Vietnam to facilitate the project. MCC refers to logistics activity where less than a container cargo load from different origins are combined into a full container load and shipped to one particular destination. It optimises cargo flows and reduces international transport costs, especially useful for small and medium enterprises that ship small volumes and large companies that source small volumes of goods from multiple suppliers. It is of great importance for exporters to have efficient and cost effective logistics and shipping services in order to be competitive in the world.
Mr. Samarawickrama emphasized that Sri Lanka needs to focus on new sources of competitive advantages like technology and business efficiency. Time and cost of taking goods into another country is a key challenge. MCC will build on the growing competitiveness of the Colombo port. “Sri Lanka has been saying that it’s poised to become a maritime hub in the region for over a decade. The country has not done enough to make it happen, where the needed reforms have been postponed. The MCC project will be a very impactful mission that will help realise the potential. It will complement the other ongoing reforms to make Sri Lanka an attractive place to invest and a hub for trade,” he noted.
Guided by the national trade policy, the trade liberalisation effort is underway to bring down para tariffs and tariffs on imported goods that are a vital part of the global supply chains. “We are focusing on major improvements for trade facilitation. As a national single window for trade and a new trade information portal, we are also addressing the issue of improving the ease of doing business and have set up 10 tasks. We have also announced a commitment to liberalise foreign investments in maritime services sector.”
The coastal shipping agreement between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will be signed soon that will permit third country port usage under the agreement. “We will soon introduce the innovation and entrepreneurship strategy to foster a climate for new high technology products and services that emerge and also for start-ups to thrive.
We also engaged with the World Economic Forum on how to latch onto the opportunities presented by the fourth industrial revolution that is changing products and systems and supply chains,” he stressed.