Citi hosts economic forum titled ‘Sri Lankan Economy Onwards and Upwards’

Citi recently brought together its key client seniors and hosted an economic forum themed “Sri Lankan Economy Onwards and Upwards”.

The keynote speakers were Central Bank Governor Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe and Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana. The sessions covered insights into Sri Lanka’s macroeconomic developments and way forward.

Governor Dr. Weerasinghe elaborated on the underlined challenges navigated during the last two years, which led to the sustained economic transformation surpassing IMF targets at present. “Downwards yield curve, currency appreciation and most importantly avoiding a banking crisis are some of the essential results achieved during this short period,” he added. 

The CBSL expressed confidence in achieving the IMF targets without deviation from the current plan.

The Treasury Secretary Siriwardana presented and conducted an in-depth discussion following the Governor’s session. 

Citing the unprecedented and bottomless crisis faced by Sri Lanka since post-independence, he highlighted that the macro-economic, fiscal and monetary policy reforms initiated by the Government supported by the IMF program led the country towards the road to recovery experienced today. 

However, as a country, Siriwardana reiterated that many in society have forgotten or chosen to forget the extreme hardships the country went through and it was paramount that everyone cooperates to ensure a resilient, socially inclusive and stabilised economy in the future.

Citi Markets Head Saneth Gamage said: “Careful navigation and consistent policies will help to achieve the expected economic recovery. As a trusted advisor, we at Citi are committed to bringing global best practices for supporting the country’s current framework on good governance and policy initiatives for economic recovery.”