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HON. SARATH AMUNUGAMA, MINISTER OF ENTERPRISE
DEVELOPMENT & INVESTMENT PROMOTION ADDRESSES 2008 ANNUAL MEETINGS
OF THE IMF AND THE WORLD BANK BOARDS OF GOVERNORS, WASHINGTON
D.C., OCTOBER 13, 2008
Hon. Sarath Amunugama, Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion, in a widely acclaimed speech appraised those gathered that under the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka’s financial system has shown strong resilience to adverse global developments. Comprehensive development programmes have been launched by the government to address key constraints for more equitable growth have raised the GDP growth rate to approximately 6.5%, compared to the historical average of around 4.5% in the past. There has been a sharp reduction in unemployment. Sri Lanka’s growth momentum is expected to continue and register around 7% in 2008, particularly benefiting from improved performance in the agriculture sector. Due to a tight monetary policy and good harvests, inflation is on the decline. Poverty indicators have shown remarkable progress in recent years and Sri Lanka has already achieved most of the UN Millennium Development Goals. The World Bank has already committed US$ 900 million to Sri Lanka through the new Country Assistance Strategy. The Minister also drew the attention of the Boards of Governors to the important role the IMF and the World Bank have to play to safeguard global financial stability and help maintain a sustainable level of development, particularly in light of the current global economic downturn. He stressed that due to the increased economic interdependency among nations through trade, investment and sophisticated capital markets, it is highly likely that many countries will have to go through an extremely difficult period in the near future.
Whilst taking positive note of the progressive steps taken by the management of the IMF and the World Bank, particularly in regard to its reforms and new development financing initiatives, the need for sufficient flexibility on the part of the Fund and the Bank to help those countries that may need urgent liquidity support and development assistance at this stage was stressed.
On the sidelines of the Annual Boards of Governors Meetings, the Minister led the Sri Lanka delegation to the G24 Ministers Meeting; held bilateral meetings with a number of his counterparts, including Hon. Seyyed Shams Al-din Hosseini, the Finance Minister of Iran; Hon. Ibrahim A Al- Assaf, the Finance Minister of Saudi Arabia; the Indian delegation to the Meetings and Mr. Robert Dohner of the US Treasury. The Minister also briefed a number of senior officials of the IMF and World Bank on important developments taking place in Sri Lanka due to the proactive policies of the Government of Sri Lanka. Embassy of Sri Lanka 15 October 2008
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