Former Georgian Finance Minister hails Sri Lanka’s five-hub strategy

Wednesday, 21 August 2013 00:16 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Shabiya Ali Ahlam The former Finance Minister of Georgia and a top economist Dimitri Gvindadze last week hailed the Government’s five-hub strategy as perfect for taking advantage of Sri Lanka’s geographical location.

Noting that Sri Lanka’s strategic location on the world map allows the nation to enjoy a plethora of benefits, Gvindadze emphasised that the country’s geographical position should be used in a manner which will be advantageous to the country. “Sri Lanka being close to big economies such as India and China can learn to leverage to its favour,” said Georgia’s former Finance Minister delivering a lecture last week at the MILODA Academy of Financial Studies under the Eminent Speaker series on the topic ‘Defining Attributes for a Successful Global Economic Positioning – Lessons for Sri Lanka’. Commending Sri Lanka’s five-hub concept, he said: “The regional hub concept is a highly appropriate one. Georgia also thought along those lines. You are a small country with a small population, and in many aspects we are more and less the same. The regional hub economy concept that basically transfers Sri Lanka to a country that is open will serve as an ideal place for domestic and international businesses.” “The five-hub concept (Maritime, Aviation, Knowledge, Energy and Commerce) will not only allow other economies to plug into Sri Lanka for the sake of serving the domestic market, but will also allow the region to be used as a stepping stone to gain access to the neighbouring countries,” Gvindadze told a fully-packed audience at which Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa, Ministry of Finance and Planning Secretary Dr. P. B. Jayasundera, Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, and Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka Nobuhito Hobo were also present. Gvindadze also pointed out that the regional hub concept has worked reasonably well for Georgia as the country achieved high growth rates and managed to cope with the global credit crunch. Having opined that the public sector of the nation has a lot of positive energy, Gvindadze stressed the need for counties such as Sri Lanka and Georgia to keep up with the global trends to lure investors. “Global investors are in search of destinations and are faced with so many options. There is high competition for this market share and without appreciating the global tends it is very difficult for the public and the corporate sector to succeed,” he noted. See full report on Page 6