Promoting export and foreign direct investment in Sri Lanka

Between the years of 1983 to 2009, Sri Lanka was embroiled in civil war, while simultaneously undergoing severe economic impoverishment for much of this period. However, toward the end of the war, Sri Lanka’s economic prospects were optimistic. Based on “Mahinda Chinthana: Vision for the Future,” the country’s five year national development plan, Sri Lanka has continued to explore various ways for socio-economic development.

In 2012, Sri Lanka was selected as a Strategic Development Partner country for the Knowledge Sharing Program (KSP). The Sri Lankan government suggested KSP topics on examining the problems in Sri Lanka’s development policy, analyzing its export promotion policy and strategic sectors, promoting export and foreign direct investment, and strengthening SMEs’ competitiveness through the Written Demand Survey Form.

The Center for International Economic Studies (CIES) was designated as the implementing body for the 2012 KSP with Sri Lanka with support from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance of the Republic of Korea and the Korea Development Institute. With this foundation, CIES started conducting this study which aimed to support Sri Lanka in achieving policy objectives by sharing Korea’s
development experiences.