That is a challenge before us, and I’m asking all of you to join in this effort to try and redefine the scope of everything we do in the Central Bank, to see that we reorient ourselves towards winning peace in the broader sense, to making the financial sector, the economy and other types of institutions in this country work in an effective manner that can raise the growth, the potential of this economy, raise the skill levels, and most importantly, bring about that ethnic harmony which I think has been amply demonstrated here today in-terms of all religions and faiths coming together and propagating the message of peace and goodwill, at the same time hoping for a better Sri Lanka for us, our children and grandchildren. So with that simple message, I thank you very much for all your efforts. I think the last six months for me have been a very steep learning curve, coming back and reorienting myself with this institution, which is very dear to my heart. I have observed tremendous improvement, in-terms of several processes that were never there when I left this institution in 1993. I find that there is still more to do but I think Sri Lanka as a country has a great potential. We are geographically situated in a location which is at the center of the fastest growing population cohort, globally. As you know, the last twenty to thirty years were the era of China. China grew massively because it had a very fast-growing population.
So we can provide that real leading edge. Our people are all over the world. Wherever you go, if you look at expatriates, Sri Lankans in any country, anywhere in the world – I have been to the Caribbean, places like Barbados, even there you find Sri Lankans. And they are doing very well in their professional endeavours. So we have to reach out to this diaspora, as I call it, and ensure that they also come and help us but already within the country, we have a sufficient pool of people who really can lead the charge, not just in-terms of raising Sri Lanka’s profile but also attracting foreign investment and other resources which will help this country provide leadership in this region in the decades ahead. So remember that it is a great challenge for all of us, this institution is going to be at the epicenter of this country’s efforts to develop itself. President Maithripala Sirisena who visited us, a few weeks ago, made it very clear that his main objective is to see that people’s incomes increase. That is his objective. He has spelt out his objective. How do we achieve that? That is where we have to sit now and brainstorm. To me the key challenge is how to raise productivity. Productivity is very important, output per capita. This is the key element that we have to utilize.