COLOMBO, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka’s business community on Monday welcomed the victory of opposition candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the recently concluded presidential elections, hoping the new president would move forward with open market reforms, provide a conducive environment for local industries and attract foreign direct investments.
In an interview with Xinhua, International Business Council President Kosala Wickremenayake said that the business community was hoping Rajapaksa would accelerate the development of infrastructure projects, attract larger quantities of foreign direct investment, and provide a stable policy environment.
“The business community welcomes the change,” Wickremenayake said. Meanwhile, Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of Imperial Teas Group and Chairman of Colombo Tea Traders Association Jayantha Karunaratne told Xinhua that exporters would be looking to the new leadership to lower operating costs, improve access to credit, remove unfair taxes and provide policy assistance to make local exports competitive in the international market.
“The business community accepts the choice of the people and we are ready to work with the new leadership to develop the economy of the country,” Karunaratne said. According to Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Colombo Siri Hettige, economic pressures such as low growth and high costs of living played a key role in the electoral victory of Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
“The new president will have to bridge the widening gap between communities and deliver economic reforms to industrialise the country,” Hettige said. Gotabaya Rajapaksa contested in Saturday’s presidential elections representing the opposition party Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. He won the elections with 6.9 million votes securing a 52 percent majority, while his opponent Sajith Premadasa won 5.5 million votes securing 42 percent of votes.
Rajapaksa took oaths as the nation’s new president on Monday in the sacred Buddhist city of Anuradhapura in the North Central Province. Then he addressed the nation in which he vowed to strengthen the economy and work for the betterment of all sectors.
Rajapaksa served as the defense secretary in the former Sri Lankan government which was headed by his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa.
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