President Anura Kumara Dissanayake outlined his government's key economic strategies in Parliament today in his Government's policy statement speech, focusing on development and growth. In his policy statement, the President announced that the 2025 Budget will be presented in February - March 2025, with an interim Vote on Account scheduled for December 2024.
A major focus of the president's address was on expanding the Information Technology (IT) sector. He revealed plans to grow the current IT workforce of 85,000 to 200,000 within five years, with the goal of increasing IT-related export revenue from USD 1.5 billion to USD 5 billion annually. Education and language development will play a key role in achieving this target.
The President also discussed the tourism sector, setting a target of 4 million tourist arrivals annually and generating USD 8 billion in revenue within the next three to four years.
To boost competition and fairness in the economy, President Dissanayake emphasized the need to remove market monopolies and establish regulatory authority. He stressed the importance of government oversight in critical areas like the energy and financial markets while encouraging private sector participation for balanced and sustainable growth.
