Paradigm shift in the economic policy since 2005:

President awakes Asia's 'Sleeping Lion'

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has woken up the "Sleeping Lion of Asia" and prepared it for a long marathon of high economic growth in excess of eight percent per annum, Finance and Planning Ministry and Treasury Secretary, Dr. P. B. Jayasundera said.

Speaking at the Diamond Jubilee ceremony of the Central Bank held at the Centre for Banking Studies on Friday, he commended the exemplary role played by the President to leading Sri Lanka towards economic prosperity.

"President Rajapaksa has woken up the 'Sleeping Lion of Asia' and prepared him for a long marathon of high economic growth in excess of 8 per cent per annum.

"This unstoppable marathon for which the macro economic foundation has been laid through collaborative work by the Government and the Central Bank during the past five years, demands greater collaboration between the two institutions towards managing macro economic challenges in the emerging market economy environment," he said.

Dr. Jayasundara pointed out that economic policies of the 1980s and 1990s were greatly influenced by multi lateral lending agencies and reforms based on privatisation and liberalisation, placing trust only on the private sector for economic development.

"Today, it is a different story and more encouragingly, with a different outlook. There is a paradigm shift in the economic policy since 2005, recognising the importance of infrastructure development and associated investments in the service economy policy bias towards domestic value addition in production, integrated rural and agriculture development and placing trust on both private and public sector for economic development," he added.

The Treasury Secretary said Sri Lanka's economy is enjoying over USD 2,000 per capita income and has graduated to a middle income status. "The progress has been rapid since 2005, during which period the economy has sustained an average growth of six per cent in spite of adjustment difficulties in the midst of a global oil price hike, financial crisis and intensified conflict till it ended in mid 1999," he added.

Dr. Jayasundera pointed out that unemployment has declined to five per cent from 15 per cent in 1990. "Sri Lanka is fortunate to avoid contagious effects of the banking fall-out in 2009, due to timely interventions by the Government and the Central Bank, the collapse of investment banks, the financial institutions in the US and in advanced countries in 2008 amply demonstrate that regulatory failures could cause financial tsunamis with disastrous socio economic consequences," he said.