President Ranil Wickremesinghe has announced his intention to prioritize the inclusion of proposals from the private sector in this year's budget and to separately examine related areas. He made these statements while attending a 2024 pre-budget -discussion held at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday (01) with the leaders of private sector institutions.
During the meeting, the President discussed reform programs designed to help the country recover from the economic crisis it is currently facing and move towards sustainable growth.
Leaders of private sector institutions presented proposals to the President, focusing on increasing government revenue and efficiency, as well as measures to support various industries, including attracting investors, the tourism industry and the garment industry.
They also urged the President to prioritize measures aimed at overcoming the current economic crisis and addressing the challenges faced by business people in various sectors in this year's budget.
President Wickremesinghe expressed his commitment to giving careful consideration to the ideas and suggestions put forward by the leaders of private sector institutions. He intends to conduct separate discussions on each of these areas in the future.
The efforts made by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to achieve economic stability in the country were also commended by the leaders of private institutions.
The discussion was attended by Senior Advisor to the President on Economic Affairs, Dr. R. H. S. Samaratunga, Presidential Adviser Chandra Shafter, Secretary to the Finance Ministry Mahinda Siriwardena, Chairman Sri Lanka Planning Board Dinesh Weerakkodi and the leaders of various private sector organizations.