2011 pivotal for Lanka’s forward march – Basil

Presenting a do-or-die attitude towards the New Year, Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa has highlighted 2011 as a pivotal point in Sri Lanka’s march towards development.

His Ministry released a statement yesterday quoting the Minister insisting that the time has come for the country to exclusively focus on development in 2011, especially considering the fact that the three-decade war is now over.

“The expectation of the people is for this country to reach the zenith of development,” Rajapaksa said in the statement.

He pointed out that many landmarks were reached in 2010. Moreover, the rest of the economic indicators are very positive; inflation is at single digit, the stock market is doing well and tourism has recorded the highest numbers in history. Infrastructure projects everywhere around the country are almost near completion and Sri Lanka has remained unscathed from the global financial crisis, Rajapaksa pointed out.“We have completed many infrastructure programmes and laid the foundation for an economic boom in 2011.

Most of the remaining infrastructure projects will be completed in the New Year and the expectations are high for business to go to these regions and raise the standard of living for the people.”

Consolidation of 2010 economic victories is key in 2011 says CB Chief Nivard Cabraal

By Deepal V. Perera

Sri Lanka’s greatest achievement in 2010 was bringing stability and growth to the economy, asserted Central Bank Governor Ajith N. Cabraal.

Speaking to the Daily FT, he said: “Now there is momentum in the economy and all the decisions taken by the bank during the year have brought good results.”

Commenting on what’s in store for Sri Lanka’s economy this year, the Governor said that consolidation of what was gained during the 2010 was the challenge.

“Consolidating and maintaining the highest growth in the economy by managing inflation, bringing down Government debt as against GDP, poverty reduction and investing more in the infrastructure developments are the key areas that we are considering in 2011. To achieve this we will be bringing more changes to our policies, which will be announced on 4 January when we launch our ‘2011 Road Map,’” he said.