Mangala Samaraweera holds discussion with ADB to expedite projects in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO (News 1st) - The Minister of Finance and Media, Mangala Samaraweera, who is attending the 51st annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila had discussions with an Executive Director of the Board of ADB, In-Chang Song, at the ADB headquarters today (May 4). Both sides agreed at the meeting to accelerate ongoing bilateral projects, which currently surpass US$ 3.6 billion. The ADB programme in Sri Lanka has provided loans, grants and technical assistance to grow the country’s economy and improve the lives of people, particularly the poor, women, children and other vulnerable groups. ADB has worked closely with Sri Lanka since 1966, signing loans, grants, and technical assistance totaling $9.1 billion as of 31 December 2017. Over the next five years, ADB will contribute to the Government of Sri Lanka’s key development goals of job creation, income enhancement, rural economic development, knowledge formation, and economic diversification, including export development. Meanwhile Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera was among a four-member panel who discussed 'Technology for Change' live on CNBC Global on May 4, on the sidelines of the 51st Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank. The other panelists were Takehiko Nakao, President of the ADB, Minnette Navarette, President of Kickstart Ventures, Nandita Parshad, Managing Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The discussion focused on emerging technologies and the impact of such advanced systems on developing societies, particularly on employment generation. Robotics and artificial intelligence were identified as new areas of concern but the panelists agreed that better educated and well-trained youth will be able to adjust to these changes if governments are encouraged to steer educational systems fitting to contemporary demands of the global job markets.