Introduction

A National Export Strategy at an opportune time for Sri Lanka!

# Sri Lanka NES

The time to transform Sri Lanka's export sector is now. The current economic reforms agenda, combined with increasing regional trade opportunities and major transformations in pro-duction techniques, provides a unique window of opportunity for Sri Lanka to modernize and start a new cycle of export growth. The National Export Strategy (NES) is a timely catalyst through which the export sector will be reshaped.

The NES builds on consensus from the entire export community about what is needed to boost the country’s trade performance. It lays out a detailed roadmap for faster export growth and acknowledges that things need to be done differently to in-crease trade’s contribution to economic development.

Sri Lanka now has the opportunity to catch up to fast-growing Asian exporting countries. The NES will create new champions while supporting the growth of traditional industries. Expansion of higher-technology and knowledge-intensive exports will be favoured because they are less vulnerable to market variations.

Improving the business environment for all Sri Lankan en-terprises. The NES creates the conditions for diversification by strengthening emerging sectors as well as improving overall trade support in areas that affect all exporters, such as logistics, trade information and quality assurance. Improving these trade support functions will benefit not only emerging sectors but all Sri Lankan export industries.

The NES focus sectors provide a good mix of different indus-tries. The focus sectors were chosen through rigorous export potential assessments which confirmed Sri Lanka’s competitive advantages in these industries in global markets. Implementing the NES will create fast export growth and more high income jobs for benefit of all Sri Lankans 

• The NES will unlock the development potential of emerging export sectors to provide new job opportunities.
• The NES will put in place the conditions required for export industries to grow in Sri Lanka and generate new skills locally.
• The NES will enable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups to begin exporting by providing better services, including up-to-date market information, trade finance and trade promotion.
• The NES will enable Sri Lanka to become a regional trade hub that attracts key foreign investment to spur modernization and economic development.
• The NES will ensure the entire country is included and will benefit from it by connecting all initiatives to regional pro-duction centres.
• The NES will help ease administrative procedures to re-duce the costs of doing business for start-ups, SMEs and exporters.