President Ranil Wickremesinghe says the foreign exchange the country receives is not sufficient to meet Sri Lanka’s needs.
He said that Sri Lanka is now in a situation where it is unable to pay its debt.
The President also proposed having a national policy that does not change with every Government that comes to power and invited everyone to commit to building the country on one national policy without party differences.
He pointed out that to build a developed economy and raise Sri Lanka to the pinnacle of the world, a solid economic policy as well as political stability is a must. Hence, he invited everyone to join hands to discuss the national policy framework using the “Jathika Sabhawa” (National Council) as a platform.
President Wickremesinghe stated this while declaring open the first life-saving pharmaceutical manufacturing plant established in Sri Lanka today (10).
The President also pointed out that he is working towards establishing a national policy to prepare an export economy using competitive and modern technology.
“The foreign exchange we receive is not sufficient to meet our needs. Therefore we have to obtain loans every year. Currently, we are in a situation where we are unable to pay the debt. Our economy must be rebuilt. If we are to succeed we must remember one thing. We must earn the required foreign exchange. A deficit of foreign exchange cannot be maintained. It is not possible to maintain a budget deficit. Our aim should be to keep the surplus of the expenditure head. For this, we need to increase our foreign income,” the President said.
The President also said that today the people are facing grave difficulties and many have lost their jobs.
“Some have to skip meals and be in hunger. We need to find long-term solutions to address these issues. It is not possible to go back and find solutions. That is why plans are being made today to create a very competitive, modern technology-based export economy. That is why we should make policies,” he said.
He also said that the pharmaceutical manufacturing plant was initiated when Maithripala Sirisena was the President and he was the Prime Minister and Rajitha Senaratne was the Health Minister.
“This is one result of the initiatives taken by the Good Governance regime. We worked in silence. Then the government changed and a new government was elected. After Gotabhaya Rajapaksa came to power this program was not halted. Generally, when one government loses power and another one comes to power, the work done by the previous government is halted. However, this project was not stopped and now I am declaring this establishment open as the President,” the President said.
The President said that Sri Lanka’s economic framework depends on the stability of the political framework and if a stable political system cannot be established, the people of the country will suffer. (Colombo Gazette)
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