Sri Lanka exports and FDI reforms lack urgency, Centre for a Smart Future warns, as global trade risks and foreign earning pressures rise.
Sri Lanka exports and FDI reforms lack the ambition and urgency needed to face worsening global economic uncertainty, a Colombo-based think tank has warned.
The Centre for a Smart Future said the government must urgently revive and accelerate Sri Lanka’s trade competitiveness, export, and foreign direct investment reform agenda.
The public policy think tank warned that further delays will be more painful as Sri Lanka confronts an increasingly unforgiving global economy.
According to the Centre for a Smart Future, progress across most key reform areas has remained slow.
At the same time, global economic conditions have worsened, trade volatility has continued, and pressure on Sri Lanka’s foreign earnings has intensified.
The think tank urged private and public sector stakeholders to work together proactively and chart a more ambitious path forward.
The full statement is reproduced below:
Sri Lanka’s Trade, Exports, FDI Agenda Lacks Urgency
The Centre for a Smart Future said Sri Lanka’s trade, exports, and FDI agenda is lacking ambition and urgency.
It warned that delays in progress are now becoming more painful as global economic uncertainty worsens.
The think tank welcomed efforts to prepare an Export Development Plan, but cautioned that implementation gaps must not be ignored.
It also called for a more coherent FDI strategy and the operationalisation of the proposed Economic Commission.
In a statement issued from Colombo on May 18, 2026, the Centre for a Smart Future called on the government to urgently revive Sri Lanka’s trade competitiveness, export, and foreign direct investment reform agenda.
It said the country must act faster because the global economy is becoming less forgiving.
The statement comes one year after the think tank published a Policy Note outlining eight priority reforms on trade and competitiveness.
According to the Centre for a Smart Future, progress across most of those reform areas has been slow.
It said global economic conditions have worsened, trade volatility has persisted, and pressure on Sri Lanka’s foreign earnings has increased.
The think tank said the diagnosis of Sri Lanka’s economic problems is already well known.
However, it argued that ambition and action continue to remain elusive.
It urged both public and private sector stakeholders to work together and create a stronger, more ambitious path forward.
The Centre for a Smart Future also pointed out that other Asian economies are adopting highly coordinated institutional measures and sophisticated policy approaches to strengthen trade resilience and competitiveness.
It advised the government to study those examples and develop stronger mechanisms for Sri Lanka.
Trade Competitiveness Stuck In Neutral
The think tank said opening new markets through more sophisticated commercial diplomacy and smart trade negotiations was identified as a priority in its Policy Note last year.
However, it said only limited progress appears to have been made.
One of the key gaps, according to the statement, is the continued absence of a Chief Trade Negotiator for the country.
It also pointed to the lack of a dedicated office tasked with championing international trade.
Sri Lanka’s export structure has seen only modest diversification.
While the formulation of a National Export Development Plan for 2026 to 2030 is a welcome step, the Centre for a Smart Future cautioned that announcing a strategy is not the same as implementing it effectively.
It said continuous recalibration may be needed because global economic dynamics are changing.
The think tank also recalled that the previous National Export Strategy for 2018 to 2022 was a credible document.
However, it said that strategy fell short because of institutional fragility and insufficient budgetary commitment.
The Centre for a Smart Future warned that such a failure cannot be repeated.
It said exporters still lack the policy and strategy support needed to upgrade, diversify, or move up the value chain.
The think tank argued that an ambitious enterprise innovation support programme is urgently needed.
It noted that while some leading firms have done, and continue to do, exceptionally well in difficult international markets, there are still too few such firms.
Meanwhile, many others, including medium-sized companies, are struggling to compete.
FDI Without Strategy
The Centre for a Smart Future said it is equally concerned about the absence of a coherent strategic framework to guide Sri Lanka’s FDI attraction.
It noted that Sri Lanka’s FDI performance over the past decade has been disappointing when measured against both its potential and regional peers.
The think tank said the institutional machinery responsible for addressing this issue has failed to deliver.
This concern was recently highlighted when the Board of Investment was questioned by the Committee on Public Finance in Parliament.
The questioning focused on the absence of any clear logic behind how tax incentives for investment are calibrated.
According to the Centre for a Smart Future, the widely circulated exchange exposed what it has long argued.
Sri Lanka lacks a clear strategic vision of what kind of FDI it is trying to attract and which sectors offer niche opportunities now and in the future.
The think tank said an evidence-based and forward-looking rethink is needed.
That rethink should examine what types of activities and investors are realistically feasible for Sri Lanka to attract.
Economic Commission Must Not Be Abandoned
The Centre for a Smart Future reiterated its call for the government to operationalise the Economic Commission proposed under the 2024 Economic Transformation Act.
It said the idea of a high-powered and well-resourced body with a genuine mandate to coordinate across government on investor facilitation is now essential.
The think tank said such a body must also take an integrated approach to the trade-investment nexus.
It argued that this is now the minimum institutional infrastructure required by countries seriously competing for FDI.
If the government is reluctant to implement the Act in full, the Centre for a Smart Future said it should at least extract and activate the Economic Commission, Invest Sri Lanka, and the Zones authority as standalone priorities.
