Strong institutions are foundation for long-term growth – CBSL Governor

Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe says that strong, independent institutions are the foundation for sustainable, inclusive and steady growth for a long period.

Speaking during a panel discussion on the topic ‘South Asia’s path to resilient growth’ organised by the International Monetary fund (IMF), Dr. Weerasinghe said that Sri Lanka has moved backwards in all its social indicators due to the lack of strong institutions in the country.

In response to a question raised by Krishna Srinivasan, the Director of IMF’s Asia & Pacific Department on how Sri Lanka can avoid getting trapped by fragmentation, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe emphasized that the countries like Sri Lanka are affected the most due to fragmentation.

The CBSL chief, who mentioned that the only refinery in the country is operated from Iranian oil further added that Sri Lanka had to stop operations following the sanctions on Iran by the U.S.

Sri Lanka was affected due to the inability to do trade settlement, he added, expressing that the country pays high prices for fuel due to the inability to make direct purchases from Russia, owing to the Russia-Ukraine war.