S
ri Lanka and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are set to sign a memorandum of understanding to enhance cooperation in promoting direct investment, according to Cabinet spokesman Minister Bandula Gunawardena.
“An agreement was reached between both parties,” Gunawardena informed reporters on Thursday, following the special meeting of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The agreement’s goal is to attract direct investment to both countries and to enhance their investment environments through policy and legal reforms, provision of advanced and integrated infrastructure, and process redesign, among other initiatives.
The minister noted that Sri Lanka has fallen behind its regional counterparts in attracting foreign direct investment. “While Singapore attracted 140 billion dollars in FDIs last year, India 70 billion dollars, Vietnam 28 billion dollars, and Thailand 20 billion dollars, Sri Lanka only managed to attract 1 billion dollars,” Gunawardena stated.
