National Chamber of Exporters of Sri Lanka (NCE) President Ramal Jasinghe said that the Chamber is happy that the Budget 2018 was passed with a two-thirds majority in Parliament as it gives the private sector a sense of direction.
“The private sector wants a favourable and consistent policy,” he said.
The Chamber was also happy that the state has been listening to its views, Jasinghe said. The NCE is part of the core team that is in the process of outlining the National Export Strategy (NES) and is consistently represented at all levels of discussions on free trade agreements (FTAs) such as the government is currently undertaking with India, China, Singapore and Thailand.
Jasinghe said that what Sri Lanka needed was a concerted effort by the state, academics, professionals and the private sector to chart a national marketing strategy that would enable the island to take advantage of global trade opportunities.
In this context, he commended the current effort of the Export Development Board to bring all parties together to formulate a national branding strategy for Sri Lanka. Marketing dons of the Universities of Kelaniya and Sri Jayewardenapura, professional associations like the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing and the private sector represented by such bodies as the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and the NCE are part of this effort, he said.
Jasinghe said that for the Sri Lankan economy to grow, all such efforts should finally converge on Vision 2025 and beyond.
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