President says he has not deviated from principles of country’s democratic system to revive economy

President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Thursday (13) that he had not deviated from the principles of the democratic socialist system of Sri Lanka, in his efforts to revive the economy.

Delivering his keynote addressed at the inaugural session of the 45th “SAARCFINANCE” Governors’ Meeting and Symposium held at the Colombo Hilton, the President said that although Sri Lanka gradually started liberalizing its economy since 1977, it did not bring along the necessary legislation, the President’s Media Division said.

“I have not in any way departed from the principles of the democratic socialist system in our country. I have, in fact, incorporated two of the objectives: to ensure that all citizens have an adequate standard of living, and to create rapid development of the whole country by means of public and private economic activity towards social objectives and the public good,” the President said.

Explaining his Government’s efforts to transform the economy, President Wickremesinghe said that the efforts have to be growth-oriented in order to succeed.

“Firstly, I am working within this Constitution. No one can say that I am going outside the objectives of the Constitution. These two provisions are more than enough to rewrite the economic policy of Sri Lanka,” he said.