Use pandemic as opportunity to unleash reforms for sustainable growth: Ceylon Chamber Chief

Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Chairman Vish Govindasamy yesterday urged the Government and the country at large to use the pandemic as an opportunity to implement much-needed reforms to ensure sustainable economic growth.

“It is said that one must not let a crisis go to waste and we feel this is an important opportunity for the Sri Lankan economy to bring in the reforms needed to ensure sustainable economic growth and development,” Govindasamy told the inauguration of the Ceylon Chamber’s two-day Economic Summit. Chief Guest was Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa.

“We are at a crucial point in our economic development trajectory. The steps taken now by the Government and private sector will determine how we emerge from our current challenges and signal the direction for the nation’s economy and the prosperity of its people,” Ceylon Chamber Chief emphasised.

“As the private sector we have learnt to survive in the face of unprecedented challenges, demonstrating resilience and continued perseverance. It is now up to us to shift gears as we emerge out of the pandemic and start preparing our businesses for the next decade of growth,” he added. 

“While understanding that the economy is facing numerous challenges at present, we want to also be able to find solutions through a public private dialogue,” Govindasamy said, explaining the rationale for this year’s summit theme ‘Springboard for Revival: Opportunity to Reset’.

Keeping this in mind, he said that the Ceylon Chamber has brought together a stellar line-up of over 50 experts for the summit, with high-level representatives from government bodies, multinational agencies, tech industry, finance, consulting, tourism, and leading think-tanks to name a few. 

“We are also pleased to have several international experts at the summit, who will be bringing in a wealth of knowledge concerning several key areas of development,” he said.

The sessions are designed to openly discuss the environment that will be required to create a springboard for revival and leverage on the opportunity to utilise this period to reset. The theme has been suitably chosen as Sri Lanka recovers from the pandemic-related impact while navigating external debt concerns as it rebuilds stronger. The summit recognises the need to balance growth priorities and manage debt dynamics, while facilitating more foreign exchange inflows.

Acknowledging the presence of Finance Minister Rajapaksa, Ceylon Chamber Chairman thanked him for giving the Ceylon Chamber an opportunity to have an open dialogue. 

“While we agree to disagree at times, it is healthy to have these difficult discussions, as we all love Sri Lanka very much and that’s what the Chamber puts ahead of all our businesses.  When Sri Lanka shines, we will automatically shine. 

“We kindly ask you to give us an opportunity to discuss your decisions with regard to the future of our economy and keep our discussions objective. All the meetings we have held with you so far have been fruitful to the membership at large,” Govindasamy added.