Lanka’s turn to shine on world stage

Sri Lanka is becoming a destination for trade, commerce and tourism and the Sri Lankan authorities are working hard to achieve this goal, said Crown Resorts, Chairman, James Packer at the Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF).

Excerpts of his speech:

“The last CHOGM was held in Perth in my country and Perth has strived to become a global hub for business and the city took hard decisions to build targeted tourism infrastructure to lure global travellers.

“When I visit Sri Lanka, I feel that same sense of momentum, optimism and positive energy. Sri Lanka is growing in confidence every day. This is my fifth trip to Sri Lanka in the past two years and every time I visit, I am more impressed by the continual improvements in infrastructure and the rising living standards of its people.

“Colombo has always been a great trading and maritime city, and was a part of the old spice route. But I believe that now, along with the rest of the country, it has the potential to become one of the region’s greatest destinations for business, tourism and investment. Sri Lanka is a country that has shown great resilience, ingenuity and character over much of its history. It has been forced to overcome much hardship, hardship that would test the mettle of the strongest and most stable nations.

“Now it is Sri Lanka’s time to shine on the world stage and I say - deservedly so. Economically, Sri Lanka has come a long way in a short time frame. It was only a few years back that the country was stricken by terrorism, but now Sri Lanka’s economy is growing, taking advantage of its great strengths and on a path to fulfill its great potential.

“Let me briefly discuss some of comparative advantages that makes Sri Lanka a 21st century destination for business. Sri Lanka’s geographic location in the Indian Ocean makes it extremely well positioned for business.

The country is connected to major shipping and air routes to the East and West and the successful redevelopment of the country’s port and airport infrastructure, including a new international airport at Hambantota has provided capacity for future growth, and the potential to turn Sri Lanka into a serious maritime and aviation hub.

“Sri Lanka now receives daily flights from across Asia; including direct flights from the leading cities of India, and Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and the major cities of the Middle East. But business is always first and foremost about human capital and its here that Sri Lanka provides outstanding opportunity.

“Sri Lanka has one of the highest literacy rates in South Asia at 91.2% and a well-developed education and vocational training system.

The country has a large pool of skilled and semi-skilled workers, highly regarded for their precision, quality and productivity.

The Sri Lankan workforce is also renowned for high calibre professional skills. “For example Sri Lanka has the second largest pool in the world of UK qualified Accountants (25,000) and Accountancy students (86,000).

“What this all adds up to is opportunity, the opportunity to work with a pro-growth country eager to encourage foreign investment, combined with the skills base and natural assets to give business a regional advantage.