Economic stability and a corruption-free political culture has been created today within six months where people could live freely and with dignity, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath said.
He was delivering the keynote address at the inaugural Annual General Meeting of the Global Federation of Sri Lankan Business Councils (GFSLBC) in Colombo on Friday.
The Minister extended an invitation to the Sri Lankan expatriate and global investment community to invest their money in Sri Lanka without fear.
“Unlike in the past where 10 percent or even more was charged to approve projects, the culture of bribe-taking no longer exists in the country,” Herath said.
At a time when the country desperately needs investments, the inauguration of the GFSLBC is a timely initiative undertaken by the Sri Lanka expatriate business community from over 15 countries.
The GFSLBC is an initiative of a Sri Lankan entrepreneur in Japan Sajeev Rajaputhra who is the first Secretary-General of the Federation. GFSLBC serves as a global umbrella organisation uniting Sri Lankan Business Councils from across the world.
Referring to the state of the economy and the political administration in the country, the Minister said that having taken over a country that was riddled with corruption and a bankrupt economy many steps were taken to restore economic stability and create a corruption-free administration.
“Delays in getting investments off the ground will be addressed soon with the ‘Single Window’ operation that would expedite the administrative process for new projects,” Herath said.
The Minister said that a coordination centre, a key requirement of the GFSLBC to facilitate activities will be set up soon to promote local and foreign investments. “Three investment promotion zones in the North and the East will be set up shortly and around 3,000 acres of land have been identified for investment projects,” Herath said.
On the progress of the US tariff talks he said that a favourable tariff rate will be secured following discussions with Washington.
A zoom discussion between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the Office of the US Trade Representative was held on Friday.
