All economies should tick within the globalized structure - President in Singapore

[October 15, 2003 - 11.00 GMT]

President Chandrika Kumaratunga told an international news conference in Singapore yesterday, that she does not believe in the trajectory of the current global economic trend, she asserted it does not help the poorer nations.

“I do not believe that one formula can be successfully applied to every nation. Each country has a different history, different political compulsions, and different ethical values. They have to evolve their own developmental models and obviously will have to stick to some kind of basic principles to make each country’s economy tick within one globalized structure,” she told the journalists.

President Kumaratunga was on a state visit to Singapore where she addressed the East Asia Economic Summit, which concluded yesterday.

Responding to a question she said, "Not only Free Trade Agreements but also bilateral, trilateral and regional trade agreements prove to be successful, more than multilateral deals".

Citing the example of the FTA between Sri Lanka and India she said that Indian investments into SL under the FTA has increased in major sectors such as petroleum, tourism and IT.

“We are beginning to negotiate FTAs with many countries. There’s one on the cards with Pakistan, with the US and we would like to have an FTA with Singapore also,” the President said.

President meets Singapore leaders

President in Singapore on state visit and for world economic summit

PRINT THIS STORY

Contact Information: Send mail to gosl@presidentsl.org with questions or comments about this web site. 
Last Updated Date: October 15, 2003  -11.00 GMT.