{"id":155493,"date":"2026-04-04T15:50:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T22:50:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=155493"},"modified":"2026-04-04T15:50:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T22:50:35","slug":"world-bank-is-on-the-wrong-track","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/04\/04\/world-bank-is-on-the-wrong-track\/","title":{"rendered":"World Bank is on the wrong track\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em>Dr Sarath Obeysekera<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n<p>My personal opinion &nbsp;is that we should concentrate on attracting &nbsp;FDI to develop marine resources with Trinco as a nucleus&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Youngsters wasting their energy and education &nbsp;in driving Tuk Tuk should be given more training and develop vocational training and make them<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Available for Marine sector development&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We keep nudging but stare should request WB to reallocate assets&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Quote&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/en\/news\/feature\/2025\/11\/20\/from-crisis-to-comeback-how-climate-smart-growth-can-power-sri-lanka-s-recovery\">World Bank<\/a>&nbsp;has strongly suggested that Sri Lanka develop its tourism and agriculture sectors as key drivers for economic recovery, job creation, and sustainable growth. In a&nbsp;<strong>five-year Country Partnership Framework (CPF) launched in April 2026<\/strong>, the&nbsp;World Bank&nbsp;and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) committed over US$1 billion to support Sri Lanka&#8217;s recovery, specifically targeting these areas.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>World Bank&nbsp;+3<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are the details of the World Bank&#8217;s suggestions and support for these sectors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1. Developing Tourism<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Focus:<\/strong>\u00a0The strategy aims to expand the tourism sector by protecting natural and cultural assets, creating jobs, and ensuring benefits flow to local communities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Strategic Plan:<\/strong>\u00a0The partnership supports the &#8220;Sri Lanka Tourism Strategic Plan 2026\u20132030&#8221;.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Targeted Investment:<\/strong>\u00a0The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/en\/news\/press-release\/2025\/05\/07\/world-bank-group-to-boost-jobs-and-private-sector-growth-in-sri-lanka-with-1-billion-support-package\">World Bank<\/a>includes a $200 million package focused on tourism expansion.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Regional Growth:<\/strong>\u00a0Specific attention is given to developing tourism in the Northern and Eastern provinces.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>World Bank&nbsp;+1<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. Developing Agriculture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Climate-Smart Farming:<\/strong>\u00a0The\u00a0World Bankemphasizes moving toward climate-smart agriculture to build resilience against floods and droughts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Value Chain Enhancement:<\/strong>\u00a0Support is designed to help farmers adopt modern technologies, reduce food loss, and access better markets for products like cinnamon, coconut, and seafood.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Investment:<\/strong>\u00a0A $100 million initiative was announced in 2025 to support agri-food producers and improve rural jobs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Private Sector Integration:<\/strong>\u00a0The IFC is working to link smallholder farmers with private finance and agribusiness opportunities.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>World Bank&nbsp;+5<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3. Contextual Goals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Economic Growth:<\/strong>\u00a0The overarching goal is to achieve 7% medium-term economic growth by leveraging these sectors, attracting private capital, and creating jobs for youth and women.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Economic Stability:<\/strong>\u00a0The development of these sectors is meant to diversify the economy and support a &#8220;Rurban&#8221; (Rural and Urban) development approach to ensure inclusive growth.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>World Bank&nbsp;+2<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These recommendations are part of a broader shift from crisis management (following the 2022 economic collapse) to long-term sustainable, private sector-led growth.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dr Sarath Obeysekera My personal opinion &nbsp;is that we should concentrate on attracting &nbsp;FDI to develop marine resources with Trinco as a nucleus&nbsp; Youngsters wasting their energy and education &nbsp;in driving Tuk Tuk should be given more training and develop vocational training and make them Available for Marine sector development&nbsp; We keep nudging but stare [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[116],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-155493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-sarath-obeysekera"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155493"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":155494,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155493\/revisions\/155494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}