President Anura Kumara Dissanayake emphasized the government’s commitment to fostering economic independence and highlighted the essential role of exporters in achieving this goal.
The President made these remarks during a meeting with senior officials from the Export Development Board and representatives of the export sector at the Presidential Secretariat on the 29th. He underscored the need to establish a single service window by integrating key government institutions, including Sri Lanka Customs, to streamline export activities. Additionally, he stressed the importance of enhancing the efficiency of government agencies involved in exports and accelerating digitalization efforts to support the sector.
President Dissanayake further noted that the government is focusing on key issues, such as significantly lowering energy costs, attracting foreign investment, and restructuring the diplomatic service to expand access to international markets.
He reiterated the government’s intention to achieve these targets in the near term, calling for robust cooperation from all stakeholders in the export industry.
Representatives from various sectors—including construction, freight transport, logistics, fisheries, IT, gems and jewelry, printing, glass and ceramics, and spice products—participated in the discussions. They presented industry-specific challenges and potential solutions to enhance overall export performance.
The meeting also addressed future plans to boost export revenues, with a strong emphasis on investment promotion, regulatory improvements, research and development, infrastructure enhancement, productivity growth, market access, digitalization, and the provision of tax incentives.
Export Development Board Chairman Mangala Wijesinghe and other senior board officials were also in attendance at this important discussion.
