Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the U.S., Mahinda Samarasinghe took part in a Business Roundtable organized by the U.S. Business Council for International Understanding, in collaboration with Washington Global Advisors. The roundtable took place in Washington, D.C. on 11 March 2025. The potential international investors who attended the discussions were impressed by the country’s transparency, anti-corruption stance and healthy respect for investor interest.
Over twenty five representatives of corporate entities in Washington, D.C. including former U.S. Ambassadors who served in Sri Lanka in the past attended the roundtable. The participants were mindful of the major political changes that have recently taken place in Sri Lanka and in the U.S and showed re-ignited interest for investing in Sri Lanka mainly due to the focus of the new government of Sri Lanka on anti-corruption.
During the discussion, Ambassador Samarasinghe referred to the dire financial crisis that Sri Lanka faced in 2022. Further, he highlighted that the Sri Lankan society has the underlying perception that such a collapse was induced by economic mismanagement, nepotism and corruption in addition to the governance sans checks and balances. Recalling his initiative to propose the IMF Managing Director to send a high-level IMF team to speak with the then President, which set the backdrop to the EFF program, Ambassador Samarasinghe expressed his appreciation for the unwavering support that Sri Lanka received from the U.S. during the process, with special reference to the vital role the U.S. Treasury played in Sri Lanka securing the Extended Fund Facility.
Ambassador Samarasinghe also traced Sri Lanka’s remarkable recovery from negative growth to its current positive growth: the anticipated 5% growth in 2025 and its current capacity to fund almost 4 months of imports. He drew attention to the renewed investor interest in the country following the recovery. Further, he stated that the IMF is endorsing Sri Lanka as a role model - a country committed to the continuity of economic policy with confidence in the private sector as the country’s engine of growth, despite a change of government and political leadership.
The Ambassador also underscored Sri Lanka’s well-publicized pluses to draw foreign investment, particularly its high literacy rate in the region, a skilled labor force and its strategic location in the Indian Ocean in addition to the constitutional guarantees afforded to foreign direct investment.
He also made special references to the Port City development and the incentives offered such as the 25 year tax holiday and the oil tank facility in Trincomalee.
The participants were also informed of President Dissanayaka’s initiatives to digitalize the economy which aims to provide a leveled playing field to all foreign investors, while ensuring transparency and corruption-free investor dealings at every turn.
The Economic and Commercial Section of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Washington, D.C. at commercial@slembassyusa.org can be contacted for more information.
Link to the YouTube video: https://youtu.be/qoKT1wjBHCk?si=FLR9qNZnRPaGv5SC
Embassy of Sri Lanka
Washington, D.C.
17 March 2025
