Sri Lanka’s annual untapped export potential for merchandise is over US$ 10 billion, said World Bank Country Director for the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, Faris Hadad-Zervos.
He was speaking at a seminar, “Towards Sri Lanka’s Recovery: Green, Resilient and Inclusive Development” hosted by the Press Club and Colombo Hilton.
“In just one year, Sri Lanka has made good progress in addressing serious challenges facing the economy.” There have been some signs of stability in the past few months compared to 2022. Inflation is trending downwards from 69.8% in September 2022 to 12% in June 2023. “Market interest rates are also declining as the uncertainty over domestic debt restructuring wanes and the foreign exchange liquidity picture has also improved.”
“Yet, this is not the end of the road. The path to recovery is long and Sri Lanka must stay on course.”
The next two years will be critical for Sri Lanka’s recovery. There are further significant headwinds that need to be closely monitored.