The end of the war has given Sri Lanka a historic opportunity for economic development, said US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Patricia Butenis.

"Building large projects is part of economic development, and the other part of the formula for success is human resources, making sure that Sri Lankans are ready to compete with the best throughout the world", she said.

The US Ambassador made these observations at the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) Convocation held at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel recently.

United States and Sri Lanka are also major trading partners, the Ambassador said adding that Sri Lanka exports 22% of its goods to the United States, more than to any other single country. "We work closely with the Sri Lankan government to expand our commercial and trade ties", she said.

"For example, we are currently working together to bring a trade delegation to Sri Lanka in October to encourage trade and investment", she added.

Expressing her views regarding Sri Lanka's current economic situation she said, "Sri Lanka is now a middle income country, and the government plans to double per capita income in the next few years. Sri Lanka is not a low cost producer, and can no longer compete based on low wages for unskilled workers. For Sri Lanka to move forward economically, the skills and technical abilities of its people must be developed to world class levels", she stressed.

Speaking with reference to the government's ambitious goals for the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the country she said, " I understand that Sri Lanka is now ranked in the top 20 countries as a global outsourcing location, and that the government projects that BPO will account for $ 1 billion dollars in services exports by 2012".