Sri Lanka was in the news for wrong reasons:

It’s time to talk positively

by Gotabaya RAJAPAKSA

I am glad to have this opportunity to speak with you at this plenary session of the Sri Lanka Economic Summit. I trust that the Summit thus far has been a very fruitful one for all of you, and I hope that this session will be similarly productive.Not so long ago, Sri Lanka was in the news mostly for the wrong reasons.

It was mostly terrorist attacks through car bombs, bus bombs and suicide bombers, attacks on military camps and on civilians that kept this country in the headlines. Almost always, only negative publicity was generated.

That era is now no more. Now the time has come for us to talk about the positives in this country. We need to hear about the success stories and the true potential that Sri Lanka has.

That is why at the very outset I want to deliver a very clear and simple message to you on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka: this is a land of great opportunity. Come here and invest.

We have so many areas with potential for development. Our economy is poised for a remarkable revival. Sri Lanka is set to become the Miracle of Asia. We hope that our friends overseas will join with our Government and our domestic investors in bringing this about.

It has only been one year since Sri Lanka emerged victorious from a struggle against terrorism that had lasted thirty years. The losses we suffered during that period, in terms of lives, property and opportunities for growth were many. The threat of terrorism held back domestic and foreign investment. Restrictions imposed to uphold security also had a limiting effect. The full potential of our economy simply could not be realised.

Now that peace has dawned in our country, it is important that we recover these losses as much as possible. The Government is fully committed to bringing about the economic resurgence that Sri Lanka deserves. With this in mind, the Government has already launched a dynamic development programme throughout the country to accelerate our economic growth.

Special emphasis has been placed on the development of transport infrastructure such as road and rail networks. The national highway network is continually being improved. It is soon to be augmented by new roads such as the Southern Highway and the Outer Circular Road.

The roads and bridges in the Eastern Province have almost completely been redone and the road network in the North is presently being developed.

The railway system is also undergoing a remarkable growth. New tracks are being laid to Talaimannar, and the track to Jaffna is being rebuilt.

The railway lines in the south are also being extended. In addition to these, Ferry services between Sri Lanka and India will soon commence. These services will operate between Talaimannar and Rameswaram, and between Colombo and Tuticorin. The enhanced connectivity provided by all this infrastructure development is vital for future growth.

Another area in which a lot of development is taking place is the national energy infrastructure. Power plants at Norochcholai, Kerawalapitiya and Upper Kotmale will augment the national grid and provide the energy needs to support our economic resurgence.

The regional development initiatives known as Uthuru Wasanthaya (Northern Spring) and Nagenahira Navodhaya (Eastern Revival), have rapidly built up vital infrastructure including roads, bridges and irrigation systems, in the newly liberated areas. These initiatives have created an environment conducive for investment in these newly accessible regions.

In terms of international trade, the developments in the harbour system around the country augur extremely well for the future. The Hambantota Port will initially provide refuelling and bunkering services for the ships crossing the busy sea route just a few nautical miles south of Sri Lanka. There will be many opportunities to develop various lucrative port centred businesses there, including shipbuilding, ship repairing, bunkering and other industrial activities.

Work has also begun on a second international airport at Mattala. Situated near the Hambantota Port, the creation of this airport will enable the development of an air-sea transhipment hub at Hambantota which is a strategically important location in the South Asian region. Investors interested in setting up such facilities there are likely to benefit immensely in the long-term.

In addition to Hambantota, the Government has already begun to expand the harbour facilities in Colombo and hopes to develop ports in various strategic locations around the country. These ports, which include Oluvil, Trincomalee and Kankesanturai, will create many opportunities for investors to develop port-related businesses. With their easy access to fertile lands and fertile seas, there is a lot of scope to develop agriculture and fisheries processing facilities in these places. The development of industrial facilities will also be potentially very lucrative.

Through the rapid development of all this vital infrastructure, Sri Lanka is gearing up for a remarkable transformation.

From being a country that relied only on a handful of crops and industries in the past, Sri Lanka is about to start exploiting latent strengths that were underutilised all this time. Foreign investors as well as Sri Lankan businesses have the opportunity to contribute to this transformation, and will stand to gain a great deal by doing so.

The Government is very keen to encourage such investments. Through the Board of Investment, a wide variety of incentives, including full tax holidays ranging from three to fifteen years, and various other concessions are available for a wide variety of investments. Various programmes also exist on a regional level to encourage investment in less developed parts of the country. I strongly urge you to explore these options and seek out opportunities that will be beneficial both to your businesses and Sri Lanka.

There are countless opportunities for investment available here today. Large areas of land that used to be inaccessible in the North and East are free for development for the first time in decades. These are mostly very fertile lands that have a high potential for agriculture. Large plantations and farms can be established there at very little cost. It is noteworthy that there has been virtually no large scale agriculture in these regions over the last thirty years.

The soil is therefore completely free of chemical fertiliser and pesticides. It will be very easy to develop eco-friendly farms in these regions. Such farms can provide natural produce to meet the ever-growing demand for organic food in the international market.

As with the land, the seas along the entire coastline are now completely free. The restrictions that used to be in place on fishing in the past for security reasons have been completely removed.

The large fish populations in these fertile seas, which have been undisturbed for decades, can now be freely tapped. At the same time, we should take care to ensure that fishing is done responsibly and that over-fishing is avoided.

The freeing of the coastline has also given a tremendous boost to the revival of tourism. Sri Lanka possesses some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Trincomalee is the only place on Earth where elephants and blue whales, the largest animals on land and sea, can be seen during a single morning.

This region, as well as the beach areas in places like Pasikuda, Vakarai and Nilaweli can easily be developed for tourism. There are also many small islands around the Jaffna peninsula and the Northern coastline with a great potential to be developed into high-end resorts.

Tourist development opportunities are not limited to the newly liberated areas. There are opportunities to further develop windsurfing, sailing, white-water rafting, eco tourism, wildlife tourism and adventure tourism around the country.

Tourism can also be developed around the many well-preserved historical, cultural and religious sites that dot our landscape.

I should stress that Sri Lanka is a wonderfully diverse country possessing a range of attractions that can be sampled during even a short visit. It is possible to go from pristine beaches to lush rainforests to mist-covered mountains within the course of a single day. As Salman Khan, the Indian film star and producer, said recently:

“This place, as far as film making is concerned, is ideal. We go to Switzerland, Maldives, Seychelles, hill stations, interior villages, etc. We go to different locations, which are places where there is grandeur, beauty and forests. We go to these places because we don’t get everything in one country. Just imagine if we got everything in one place, which is about two hours away from India? Everybody would want to come here”.

It is clear from his remarks that Sri Lanka’s natural environment makes it an ideal place for the setting up of film location services.

For the same reasons, Sri Lanka is also an excellent place in which to organise summits and conferences. Because the country is so scenic, because most sights are located close to each other, and because our people are so hospitable, visiting delegates are certain of an enjoyable experience. The warm reports carried back by the participants at the recent International Indian Film Awards (IIFA) ceremony in Sri Lanka attest to this.

Another encouraging indicator is the fact that our nation will be co-hosting the 50 over Cricket World Cup next year. The International Cricket Council has also selected Sri Lanka as the sole hosting nation of the Twenty20 World Cup in 2012. These are all very positive signs about Sri Lanka’s future potential in this area.

Something that will further improve this potential is the development of air transport. Alongside the improvements to the land-based transport infrastructure I spoke about earlier, the Government is taking steps to improve the network of airfields all over the country. With the removal of the restrictions that used to be in place on aerospace, there is a lot of potential in air services such as transport through helicopters and seaplanes. Such services will greatly benefit the country’s reputation whilst also being financially lucrative for those who invest in them.

Another field with high development potential is education. Sri Lankans generally aspire to a high level of education, and there is a lost of potential for more tertiary education facilities here. The Government is eager to welcome foreign universities and tertiary education institutes that hope to come and set up campuses in Sri Lanka. There is also a lot of potential for technical training and vocational training in this country, and institutes that focus on providing such training would ably augment the tertiary education system.

Sri Lanka is also an excellent location for business process outsourcing and off-shoring. There are already a number of world leading companies present here for this purpose. Because free education that has been available here for decades Sri Lanka has an educated, skilful and hardworking labour force.Our workers can easily be trained to excel in technology and knowledge intensive work. Companies that transfer some of their operations here will benefit greatly from these human resources. They will also enjoy comparatively lower running costs here.

Another area where many opportunities are coming up is in the construction sector. The Government aims to clear the unauthorised structures that have sprung up in city areas, particularly Colombo, over the years. These structures not only caused problems for their occupants in terms of bad living conditions, they also prevented the beautification of the cities.

The Government is in the process of relocating the occupants of these structures and rationalising real estate availability in the cities. As a result, there is an urgent need for a large number of economical housing units that can be set up in a very short span of time.

At the same time, there is also a shortage of middle class and upper middle class housing in Colombo and the suburbs. If developers can provide housing facilities for these segments at reasonable prices, there is a lot of potential to be tapped in this field. This is clear from the boom in the construction industry even during the troubles. Many condominium complexes came up in various parts of Colombo, and these have all been sold. This demonstrates the high potential that exists in this field. All the opportunities that I have discussed so far are only a handful of the multitude available in Sri Lanka today. I am confident that you have already learnt of several others during the course of this Summit, and will no doubt learn of many more during today’s discussions. Please also make sure to use the discussion forum to resolve any questions you may have.

In concluding, let me stress once again that the Government of Sri Lanka has a deep and abiding commitment to bring about a remarkable economic resurgence in this country. The participation of our friends overseas in this revival is warmly anticipated, and discussion sessions such as this one will no doubt be instrumental in facilitating this.

At a time when the rest of the world is suffering the after-effects of a recession, post conflict Sri Lanka is enjoying a period of growth and optimism unparalleled in recent decades.

This country is poised to be the miracle of Asia. I have full confidence that this is a miracle all of you can contribute a great deal to and will benefit a great deal from. I strongly urge all of you to make use of this unique opportunity, and I wish you all success.

(The above is the keynote address by the Secretary of Defence at Sri Lanka Economic Summit - 2010 held in Colombo recently).