Friday Nov 15, 2024
Friday Nov 15, 2024
Thursday, 1 December 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy addressed a recent Breakfast Forum organised by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Sri Lanka. The event, which was the third programme for the year, was held at the Liberty Ballroom, Ramada Colombo with the participation of top business leaders, CEOs, CIM fellow members and senior corporate executives. Daily FT Editor-in-Chief Nisthar Cassim moderated the forum.
The objective of this Breakfast Forum was to provide a platform for the participants to understand and discuss emerging themes and strategy in relation to the economy, thus contributing towards broadening the audience’s perspectives of the Government’s possible future plans.
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Coomaraswamy said, “Business as usual will not work. There are some very basic fundamental challenges that need to be addressed if we are to proceed from this particular historical juncture that we are in.”
He noted that despite succeeding in terms of social development and Sri Lanka ranking high in the Human Development Index there still exist a, “Mismatch between expectations and opportunities for our young people.”
Dr. Coomaraswamy advised the audience that the need of the hour was an important paradigm shift where business as usual has to end and focus turned towards the creation of a new development framework. The new development strategy would be where, “The private sector drives our development process and to focus on exports and foreign direct Investments which are necessary to meet the aspirations of the rising middle class in Sri Lanka.”
Dr. Coomaraswamy noted: “Over time we need to move people from lower productivity to higher productivity activities to create buoyancy in terms of the economy. However, he added that, “Currently the direction we are in is a positive situation and we have to keep moving forward.”
He concluded his address stressing on the importance of a private sector driven economy. “The domestic private sector has to drive the growth process and employment generation during the next couple of years. The challenge for the government would be to create the environment; stable macro fundamentals, improving investment climate, reducing trade cost to help you (the private sector) achieve that objective.”
The audience actively participated in a lively Q & A session that followed the Governor’s address. CIM Sri Lanka Chairman Sanjika Perera delivering the vote of thanks said: “As we conclude the third CIM Breakfast Forum for the year, on behalf of CIM Sri Lanka I extend my sincere appreciation to our Speaker, Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy for being here today, and Nisthar Cassim for always being a supporter of CIM and today’s moderator.” He also thanked the participants and the many corporate sponsors who readily supported the event.
The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) UK is the world’s largest professional body for marketing. CIM Sri Lanka is the first international branch of CIM UK comprising the largest number of members, both professional and students of CIM outside the UK; 1,800 student members and over 1,000 professional members respectively. The regional institute has always campaigned for greater recognition and excellence in the marketing profession in Sri Lanka, through education, training and professional development.
