The World Bank Vice
President for the South Asia Region - Hartwig Schafer completed a four-day
visit; the World Bank reaffirmed its continued support for Sri Lanka's growth
and development to the benefit of all its citizens. In the course of his appointment,
Schafer gained a better understanding of the development goals of the country
under the new government and how the financial and technical tools of the World
Bank can use for maximum impact.
Schafer
congratulated President Gotabaya Rajapakse on his recent victory in elections
and promised continued support from the World Bank to realise Sri Lanka's ambitions
for growth and development. He also met with Sri Lankan prime minister and
finance minister Mahinda Rajapakse and senior government officials including
the newly appointed central bank governor Prof. W.D. Lakshman and finance
ministry secretary Sajith Attygalle.
Throughout his
visit, Schafer addressed some of the main goals of the government, such as
investing in human and physical resources, reforming the public sector,
creating skilled jobs for young people and responding to the health needs of a
rapidly ageing population. He also commended the Government's focus on tourism
as a sustained growth driver. It also addressed fostering creativity in
agriculture to respond to climate change while developing value-added systems
to encourage growth.
Schafer
travelled to Kegalle district to visit a rural water treatment plant sponsored
by the World Bank, which is the only such project in Sri Lanka that provides
the rural communities with treated piped water. In exchange for improved and
reliable water supplies, he worked with beneficiary groups that had agreed to
pay some of the infrastructure costs.
Schafer also
visited the Kandy Multimodal Transport Terminal (KMTT) potential site to learn
how the facility would improve safety and reduce congestion. The portfolio of
the robust International Development Association (IDA) and the International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) includes 18 projects in Sri
Lanka (with a cumulative net investment of approximately US$ 2 billion).
OSL Take: The
World Bank Vice President for the South Asia Region is visiting Sri Lanka to
gain further knowledge on the country’s development agenda. The Bank and its
subsidiaries have already pumped in large amounts of monies for development
projects covering several vital economic sectors. Further improving the
discussion between the World Bank and the Sri Lankan government would result in
a further increase in development assistance to the island nation. Sri Lanka’s
relationship with the World Bank is an encouraging sign for foreign
businesses/investors keen on doing business with Sri Lanka since the interest
shown by multinational lending agencies would help secure funding for large
scale projects.
VBS/AT/20200313/Z_TB1
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