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| Sunday, 27 June 2004 |
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Singapore PM forecasts bright future by Jayampathy Jayasinghe The problem with the LTTE could not be resolved easily but once it is done there would be investment flowing into the country. There has to be peace and stability in Sri Lanka to attract foreign investment, said Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong addressing the Sri Lankan Business Forum at Colombo Hilton on Friday. The Prime minister said Singapore was keen to establish a free trade agreement with Sri Lanka. "Sri Lanka should enter into bilateral agreements with other countries to attract investments. Foreign investors have a choice today and Sri Lanka was not the only country in the region for investment," he insisted. The South Asian countries can do much better than what they have done in the past as there was potential in South Asia. Answering a question posed by the business forum as to how Singapore was able to withstand pressure from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to implement their policies when Singapore was a developing country, The Prime Minister replied with ease that Singapore had never borrowed from the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund to develop, so there was no pressure. Answering a question, he said although China does not offer much incentives, foreign investors prefer China because of its labour laws and taxation policies etc. Referring to India, Goh Chok Tong said that India has got the capacity to produce goods for the whole world. There are Indians all over the world engaged in businesses. The Finance Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama welcoming the Prime Minister said the Singapore government supported whole heartedly when the Sri Lankan Government at that time wanted to privatise the national carrier AirLanka. The Minister paid a glowing tribute to Prime Minister for his farsightedness in steering his country to prosperity. |
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