COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera assumed the Chairmanship of the Group of Twenty-Four (G-24) has called for freer trade and private sector investment. “Experience has shown that growth in output alone is not enough to improve the welfare of the people,” Minister Samaraweera said at the Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four on International Monetary Affairs and Development (G-24), was held in Washington, D.C. on October 12. “It is widely agreed that transformation of the economy from a fundamentally agrarian, subsistence one to an urbanized, integrated, enterprise-dominated one is important for sustainable economic development.” The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank is holding their annual meetings in Washington.
Sri Lanka last chaired the G-24 in 1999 when ex-President Chandrika Kumaratunga was president. “Financing for development remains an urgent priority, he said. “Finding ways and means to fulfill this need is another key area that we must focus on at various fora. “The promotion of international trade, innovation and private sector investments will also require our continued attention.”
