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Tourism boosts Sri Lanka economy amid truce
Colombo, June 30: A ceasefire between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels fuelled Sri Lanka`s economic revival and helped the island post a healthy 5.5 per cent growth rate in the first quarter of this year.
Colombo, June 30: A ceasefire between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels fuelled Sri Lanka's economic revival and helped the island post a healthy 5.5 per cent growth rate in the first quarter of this year.
Finance minister K N Choksy said that the opening of the island's embattled northern and eastern regions following a truce with the Tiger rebels provided an impetus to the economy.
The 5.5 per cent GDP growth rate in the first three months of the year compared with a modest 0.5 per cent growth in the corresponding period last year. In 2001, the economy had contracted by 1.5 per cent.
"The opening of the markets in the north and the east of the country and their productivity also added impetus to the economy," Choksy told reporters here while unveiling a mid-year review of the economy.
However, he was releasing GDP figures only for the first quarter of the year.
He said that the ceasefire between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) contributed to better economic activity which saw tourism earnings rise by 28 per cent.
Industrial production was up 4.6 per cent while foreign remittances from Sri Lankans employed abroad rose by 11 per cent strengthening the island's external reserves position to cover 5.1 months of imports, he said.
"Continuation of the ceasefire has led to enhanced service sector activities particularly in the telecommunications, transport, hotel and related services," Choksy said.
On the down side, Sri Lanka's tea exports were lower by 11 per cent because of the Iraq war and floods in the island's south affected infrastructure and agricultural output.
Bureau Report
The 5.5 per cent GDP growth rate in the first three months of the year compared with a modest 0.5 per cent growth in the corresponding period last year. In 2001, the economy had contracted by 1.5 per cent.
"The opening of the markets in the north and the east of the country and their productivity also added impetus to the economy," Choksy told reporters here while unveiling a mid-year review of the economy.
However, he was releasing GDP figures only for the first quarter of the year.
He said that the ceasefire between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) contributed to better economic activity which saw tourism earnings rise by 28 per cent.
Industrial production was up 4.6 per cent while foreign remittances from Sri Lankans employed abroad rose by 11 per cent strengthening the island's external reserves position to cover 5.1 months of imports, he said.
"Continuation of the ceasefire has led to enhanced service sector activities particularly in the telecommunications, transport, hotel and related services," Choksy said.
On the down side, Sri Lanka's tea exports were lower by 11 per cent because of the Iraq war and floods in the island's south affected infrastructure and agricultural output.
Bureau Report