Sri Lanka logistics drive will help growth: IMF rep

June 04, 2013 (LBO) - Sri Lanka drive to invest in ports, airports and ground transport will help the island link itself to the global trade, drive exports and growth, an International Monetary Fund official said.





Global trade which plunged 20 percent in 2008 and 2009 has started to recover from 2010 and has now grown about 10 percent over two years, IMF's Sri Lanka resident representative Koshy Mathai said.

Trade Pull

"We should see trade volumes recovering much more," Mathai told a business forum in Colombo.

"The (Sri Lanka) government has focused itself on a strategy as developing a regional hub.

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"Port infrastructure, airport infrastructure and rail are being built."

Mathai was addressing an annual conference of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in Colombo, a global association of transport sector specialists.

Romesh David, from CILT Sri Lanka said the convention was being held in Sri Lanka after more than a decade.

The convention saw 130 foreign delegates participating.

Mathai said countries that grew fast showed strong export growth.

Countries like Brazil, which initially showed some success through domestic production eventually, ran out of steam