SL needs transition from crisis response to a strategic transformative growth model
Sri Lanka needs to transition from a crisis response to a strategic, transformative growth model that involves coherent policies, broad consensus, and inclusive communication to ensure a resilient and prosperous future, says Prof. Dirk Willem te Velde, Director International Economic Development Group, ODI Global.
He was speaking at an event where the Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA), in collaboration with ODI Global, launched a book titled ‘Sustaining Transformative Growth in Sri Lanka (2025–2030)’, on Thursday at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute in Colombo.
He emphasised the importance of adopting transformative and resilient growth strategies for Sri Lanka to address long-term economic challenges. “There is a necessity to grow faster, differently, more productively to avoid future crises, building on past experiences where the country exited crises, but struggled to sustain or transform growth effectively. The key to success involves stabilising the economy first, with strong leadership from the Central Bank, and then shifting towards more coherent, targeted, and consensus-driven policies,” he noted.
CEPA, Senior Advisor and ODI Global Visiting Senior Fellow, Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja highlighted that Sri Lanka is currently focused on adhering to the IMF programme to restore investor confidence and set a clear pathway out of the ongoing crisis. The goal is to complete the programme within two to three years, enabling the country to access international capital markets again for larger investments such as manufacturing.
“Tourism plays a critical short-term role in economic recovery, with recent visitor numbers reaching around 2.3 million by the end of 2025, the highest in recent years highlighting opportunities for infrastructure developments like airports and hotels. To attract foreign investments, Sri Lanka must reduce regulatory barriers related to business setup, taxation, employment, and land acquisition, which currently limit investor interest,” stressed Dr. Wignaraja.
The book ‘Sustaining Transformative Growth in Sri Lanka (2025–2030)’ argues that continued structural reforms are essential to prevent future crises and unlock Sri Lanka’s long-term development potential. It identifies six interlinked policy priorities: maintaining macroeconomic stability, integrating more effectively into global supply chains, improving factor markets such as labour, land and capital, implementing targeted sectoral policies, accelerating poverty reduction, and building political and social consensus for reform. The book has been authored by a group of leading economists and policy practitioners – Dr. Sirimal Abeyratne, Dr. Chandranath Amarasekara, Raveen Basnayake, Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Yvette Fernando, Dr. Dirk Willem Te Velde, Asela Wijesinghe, Shiya Wickramasinghe and Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja.
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