Sri Lanka High Commission in Ottawa
MEDIA STATEMENT
Thursday, 23 October 2014 21:23
The Ministry of External Affairs is surprised at some of the recent statements on the outcome of the case filed by the LTTE in 2011 at the General Court of the European Union in which the Council of the European Union was the defendant supported by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the European Commission as interveners. These statements by interested parties are based on an inaccurate premise.
The Ministry of External Affairs wishes to state that from the outset of the case being filed, legal advice and expert opinion were sought from within the European Union system and specialist European lawyers. Accordingly, the Government of Sri Lanka took action in the most effective manner available, by providing material of a substantive nature to the defendant and the interveners on a regular basis. This was in accordance with Sri Lanka being a non-member state of the European Union and having therefore to meet special conditions, contrary to the national interest of Sri Lanka, in order to be allowed to intervene itself in cases before the General Court of the European Union.
“Sri Lanka – Emerging Economic Miracle in Asia”
Monday, 20 October 2014 19:54
World Economic Forum Side Event
January 22, 2015
Davos – Klosters, Switzerland
Side Event Sri Lanka will be held at the Steigenberger Grandhotel Belvédère, Promenade 89, Davos, Switzerland on Thursday (January 22, 2015) as a luncheon session at the room “Lounge East” from 12.30 to 14.00 hrs.
The Sri Lankan economy has achieved substantial progress in almost all macroeconomic fundamentals in recent years. The economy recorded an average growth of 7.5 per cent during 2010-2013 period. Inflation remains in single digits for well over 5 years. In 2014, the economy is projected to grow by 7.8 per cent, defying a regional slowdown as the Sri Lanka remains one of Asia’s best performing economies.
Sri Lanka by 2020 would have a GDP of around US $ 150 billion, a US $ 7,000+ per capita income and sound macroeconomic fundamentals. Economic growth is targeted to average around 8 per cent from 2015 onwards. Inflation would continue at the lower end of mid-single digits and the current account at surplus with foreign reserves growing faster.
The programme, luncheon session for 1 ½ hours, will cover the presentation on “Sri Lanka – Emerging Economic Miracle in Asia” by the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) followed by Q & A session and walk-around discussion. The Sri Lankan delegation consist of representation from the Central Bank, government agencies including Diplomatic Missions, members of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) representing large scale conglomerates operating in Sri Lanka and Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka.
The presentation/ discussion will elaborate, in detail, the strategies envisaged for the
- macro-economic environment that need to be maintained, even in an uncertain global economic environment,
- the continuation of the economic diversification programme, based on the ‘5 Hubs ++’ concept,
- country-wide infrastructure development programme to provide the necessary impetus for investments,
- improvement in doing business environment,
- an investment grade sovereign rating,
- deeper and more liquid financial sector,
- productive labour force, and
- facilitation to the private sector to become even vibrant and global players.
The CBSL look forward to seeing you all at the Steigenberger Grandhotel Belvédère, World Economic Forum Sri Lanka - Side Event on 22 January, 2015.
Monetary Policy Review – October 2014
Monday, 20 October 2014 19:35
Continuing the sustained low inflation environment for the 68th consecutive month, headline inflation on a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis remained unchanged at 3.5 per cent in September 2014 while declining on an annual average basis to 4.2 per cent from 4.5 per cent in the previous month. Core inflation (Y-o-Y) meanwhile, decelerated to 3.7 per cent in September 2014 from 3.9 per cent in August 2014. The significant reduction of international energy prices and the improvements in the domestic electricity infrastructure have enabled the government to reduce domestic energy prices, and the benefits of these adjustments have now begun to reflect favourably on inflation. This development, along with the continued deceleration of the prices of other key commodities in the international market, is likely to result in inflation remaining at a lower rate than the previously projected range of 4-5 per cent in the period ahead.
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