President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said on Friday, that local entrepreneurs should be encouraged to seek new markets in Asia while providing special incentives and concessions to encourage investors who are capable of introducing new technologies to the country. He said, “With a population of over five billion, Asia is undergoing an economic boom and the center of gravity of the global economy is moving towards it. The fastest growing middle class with high purchasing power is in this region.”
President Rajapaksa said in his inaugural address to parliament, Sri Lanka should also provide special incentives and concessions to encourage investors who are capable of introducing new technologies to the country. He also said, new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, biotechnology, robotics, 3D printing, and the Internet of Things, amongst others, are continually changing the world.
Most developing nations have grasped this reality. They are spending substantially to attract technology centric investments.
“We must pay attention to this in the formulation of our investment policies. We must understand what type of investments we need to spur future economic development,” the President said.