Sri Lanka’s target of improving on the Doing Business Index ranking from 110 to 70 in three years is an ambitious but achievable target, said Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama.
Speaking at the launch of the Road Map on Investment Climate Reforms in Sri at Temple Trees by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe he said that to achieve this target, reforms should be fast tracked closely and coordinated.
The minister said the result of this would not be seen in the Doing Business Index next years as it is too soon. “However we would be able to see tangible results from 2019 onwards,” he said.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said that several new legislature too would be introduced to see that the Road Map on Investment Climate Reforms would be implemented.
World Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka and Maldives Idah Pswarayi-Riddihough, said that the Doing Business Index is a key mirror for a country’s good track record and it’s an benchmark which the investors closely follow. “This is like a report card of a school boy, girl and only difference is that the results are published. One must also remember that the report is published not to put any country in to shame but to do changes and reform.”
She also said that Georgia was one of the country’s that reformed very quickly and moved up in the ladder of the World Doing Business Index and today is a dream country for investors.
Deputy High Commissioner for Australia in Sri Lanka, Tim Huggins, said that it was difficult to do economic changes overnight and they should go through a process where the support of unions and public is needed. “This is also a sensitive area as it also has an impact on voters.”
Australia did this with great care after a lot of public debate and it was successful. However I must say that some of the changes that are being adopted in Sri Lanka are praiseworthy and I can say that Sri Lanka would be very successful in implementing them in the future.”
State Minister for Development Strategies and International Trade Sujeeva Senasinghe said that the line Ministries would work closely with investors to implement this road map and minimize red tape. He recalled that in Japan when investors come across ‘bottle necks’ they put a ‘red flag’ in the factory and the government intervenes. “This was done by Toyota Company in Japan,” he said.
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