Ask the Minister: Matters of Public Interest 

A Chat With Sujeewa Senasinghe, State Minister of International Trade 

Some of our readers  will be very interested in getting to know the progress of the present government and the future plans of the Ministers. With the endeavour of creating awareness in this regard, Daily Mirror Life met up with some Ministers and asked them a few questions. Their answers will be carried in this weekly column. This week, we speak to Sujeewa Senasinghe, State Minister of International Trade. 

Can you tell me the function of your Ministry? 

There are two bodies that handle the functions of the Ministry. One is the Agency for Trade which will handle the Free Trade Agreements that we will be signing in the near future, and the other is the Agency for Development which is a body for approval for foreign investment and other projects to be carried out in the future, in Sri Lanka. Our goal is to have one stop shop for International Trade. 

What about the Free Trade Agreements? 

With the Free Trade Agreements signed with China, India and Singapore, we will have bigger markets as lots of people will be interested in manufacturing in Sri Lanka and exporting. That’s the only way out as now we don’t get the duty free allowances for goods to be sent abroad to export markets because only the low income countries get that facility. We are above the bracket now and those benefits are no longer available, we have to move into more innovative ideas. 

Some people are of the view that the progress in your Ministry seems to be a bit slow in spite of the fact that you are known to be an active, energetic and very vocal politician. Your comments? 

At the moment BOI and all the bodies are dormant because of the changes that are being brought in. Personally I would like to see a more aggressive approach and to get things done faster but I don’t have much control over it. Although I started getting involved in doing some effective work in the Exporters Forum, Investors Forum and also in the restructuring the BOI, it was not possible to proceed as the authority vested in my appointment as State Minister is limited. 

Can you tell me about the event organised by the EDB that is scheduled to happen soon? 

It’s a massive event with the public and private partnership, happening on the 12th and 13th of October 2016, and will be one of the best organised events in Sri Lanka. We will be inviting the top business people in the world. All the Chambers are also involved. I have been working closely with Chairperson Mrs. Malwatte to make this event a success. 

What measures have you taken to improve exports? 

We have spoken to all the sectors, Plantation, Construction, IT, Ship Building and the others. We are addressing their problems. We need to get into new exports like electronic and electrical items, instead of sticking only to perennial exports. We need to start incubation programmes and train Sri Lankans giving them the knowledge and the technology so that they’ll be suitable partners in the international market. We need to guide and maybe even finance them if necessary. We are looking into new areas now so that our markets will be open when the Free Trade Agreements are implemented. We are looking at Sri Lankan entrepreneurs making maximum use of foreign technology. 

I have advised these sectors to be innovative and to look into new areas. All this time, we have been trying only with the perennial exports such as garments and tea. But we are not going to prosper as a country if we are stuck with only these exports. We should be concentrating on finding new markets and new products. 

What is your opinion about the much opposed ETCA? 

I personally think ETCA will be very good. If you see the statistics,we have benefitted. Almost 50% of our exports are now in the basket and from their side it’s only 10%. So it’s beneficial to us as that’s a bigger market. If India was very poor then we won’t benefit, but as India is rising faster than us it benefits us. 

What about the labour aspect of the ETCA that the public vehemently objected to? 

We are not getting labour as it is a sensitive topic. The government will not get anybody from India to come here for employment. We have left it for the individual organisations, unions and professionals to have discussions at their levels and make the decisions. For example if our doctors, architects and engineers want to expand and get into larger markets, they will have to have discussions with their counterpart unions in India and give us a proposal. Other than that we will not touch it. 

What is happening with the Chinese Industrial Zone in Hambantota? 

The way it had been planned during the previous regime, we were losing a colossal amount of money. The maintenance is very much higher than the income generated from these projects. Now we are in the process of restructuring it and making it an Industrial Zone. That way, the Hambantota Port and the Mattala Airport will be turned into profitable ventures. 

The area we are developing for this purpose extends up to 15,000 acres. We are partnering with China in this project so that the massive debt component can be reduced hopefully by about half at least, so that we will have more money to spend on health, education and other important areas. It will be a public and private partnership. But it’ll take some time.The Chinese would not have touched it if it was not a profitable venture. They have committed to this because they are sure of it. 

Before coming into power, your party heavily criticized the Port City project, but now you are continuing with it. Why is that? 

The manner in which the previous regime went about it was all wrong. It was detrimental to the future of the country. They hadn’t even looked into the laws of it being on the outside of the coastline of Sri Lanka. China could come, plant a flag and call it part of China. No proper planning went in to this. Now we are formulating laws and regulations so that it will be a part of Sri Lanka but a separate zone. It will be an international hub like Dubai or Singapore. We have removed the unnecessary infrastructure plans like the race tracks, and cleared the grey areas. This is not a play area for one family, it’s for the people. We will be having a lot of business interaction in this area. It’s a public and private partnership between Sri Lanka and China. Not only China like it was to be previously. 

You are also involved in a women’s empowerment programme. Can you elaborate? 

My target is to select 10,000 women in the Colombo District and give them a good training so that they can produce ‘A’ grade finished items that can be supplied to the export market. They will undergo training to make items such as handbags, slippers, sandals, dresses, handloom, duvets and bedsheets. My theme will be ‘Simply Women’ and I will have an exclusive shop in Colombo to showcase their products. I want to stop the manufacturer getting exploited over and over again. In this project the profits will be go directly back to them. 

Finally, are you happy with the Yahapalaya government? 

Yes. Overall, I am happy with whatever that benefits the country. We may not be able to do as much as we wanted for our supporters, after being in the opposition for twenty years. So personally, that’s very sad, but we need to make that sacrifice for the benefit of the whole country. So until we get the house in order and put the foundation right, we have to be in the coalition government. We faced a lot of problems with the UN resolutions and sanctions imposed against our country. Our foreign policy is brilliant now, and we have managed to turn the situation around. The rest will also fall in to place. 

Did you know? 

- He was a student of Trinity College Kandy. He is presently doing his Masters in Economics from Harvard University. 

- His father was an acting Magistrate and senior lawyer. 

- His mother is a lecturer and presently running two orphanages in Kandy. 

- He has won many competitions in singing, and talent searches. 

- During his free time he works out at the gym, cycles and swims. 

- He enjoys playing the guitar and tabla.