Business

Sri Lanka must focus on attracting more private sector investment to maintain its hard-earned macroeconomic stability and continued recovery, according to the World Bank. As Sri Lanka’s growth prospects depend on the mobilisation of additional private sector investment, including foreign direct investments, the island would require more efforts to boost jobs and income levels, said World Bank Vice President for South Asia Martin Raiser.  Raiser shared these sentiments during his two-day visit to Sri Lanka, to discuss the World Bank’s medium-term priorities for supporting the country’s development. “Sri Lanka has ample opportunities in the digital economy, tourism, logistics, agricultural value chains and renewable energy. However, realising this potential will require further improvements in the business climate,” Raiser said. As part of its commitment, Raiser also shared that the World Bank plans to finance three key projects, totalling US $ 200 million, over the next three months.  These initiatives will focus on rural development, education along with the establishment of a facility to attract private investment in renewable energy. Moreover, the World Bank outlined several medium-term goals for Sri Lanka, including improving the tourism sector, service delivery and development support for lagging regions along with equipping the labour workforce.  These priorities will be incorporated into a Country Partnership Framework, which will guide the World Bank’s engagement with Sri Lanka in the coming years. “The World Bank is committed to supporting Sri Lanka’s development agenda, particularly in the areas of poverty reduction, digital transformation and sustainability.” “We look forward to financing projects that will have a direct impact on improving the livelihoods of the Sri Lankan people,” Raiser said.