Highlights from President’s Statement of Government Policy

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake delivered his Government's Policy Statement in Parliament today. Following are some of the key highlights from the Policy Statement.

* The government expects to finalise a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on its third review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Sri Lanka by Friday. 

* The government intends to increase the allowance of the Aswesuma Social Benefit Programme and the salaries of public sector employees in the upcoming budget.

* Plans have been developed to attract 4 million tourists and generate an USD 8 billion economy through the tourism sector within the next 3 to 4 years.

* The government aims to increase the number of IT professionals from 85, 000 to 200,000 within the next five years in order to increase the country's IT export income from USD 1.2 billion to USD 5 billion. 

* The government plans to submit an interim budget by early December to allocate necessary financial provisions for the next four months. A comprehensive budget will be presented by early February with the aim of approving it by mid-March.

* Provisions will be made in the upcoming budget to increase allowances for economically disadvantaged families to purchase essential school supplies. 

* The government is approaching managing the economy from the standpoint that economic benefits must flow fairly to all citizens. 

* The President assured that controversial crimes that had been committed will be exposed and the perpetrators will face justice, and fairness will be ensured for all victims.

* The government believes that a Digital Sri Lanka is key towards elevating the country from its current state to a new level and is making plans accordingly.

* The government intends to overhaul the country's diplomatic service with the aim of going beyond traditional diplomacy to assist Sri Lankan industries in finding and accessing global markets.