Investment & Trade

Sri Lanka is well situated for trade and an attractive target for international investment. Lying on major shipping and air routes, it is close to the markets of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Moreover, the country has a literate workforce, good infrastructure, a healthy population and relatively low wages. Since the 2009 cessation of a long-running civil war, Sri Lanka has become one of the region’s more stable nations, and following elections in 2015 it has become increasingly open. The new government has indicated it is doing away with the country’s statist past and is embarking on a period of material liberalisation.

This chapter contains a viewpoint from Malik Samarawickrama, Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade; and interviews with Harsha de Silva, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; Upul Jayasuria, Chairman, Board of Investment; Samantha Ranatunga, Chairman, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce; Ugo Astuto, Director and Deputy Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific, European External Action Service; and Razeen Sally, Chairman, Institute of Policy Studies.