Asserting that global macro-economic stability is of vital importance to Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has expressed concern about the probable impact of 'Brexit'- withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (EU) - on the global economy.
"We in Sri Lanka and many other Asian countries cannot afford further financial turbulence and global economic downturn. So, we are very concerned about the probable impact of a British exit from the EU - on the global economy, on Sri Lanka, and on the UK," Colombo Page quoted the Prime Minister as saying.
Explaining the impact of Brexit on global economy, Wickremesinghe said today the trade is not confined to national boundaries, adding as a result are all dependent on the global economy recovering from the 2008 financial crisis.
Stating that the impact of Brexit on the country would be greater than losing the EU's GSP+ tariff concession, Wickremesinghe said: "In Sri Lanka, we suffered the consequences of losing the GSP+, a preferential trade deal with the EU, in the late 2000s. Going by our experience, the adverse impact off a UK pull-out would be far greater."
The Prime Minister also put forth the country's difficulty in establishing trade ties with the other nations.
He said Colombo is negotiating an economic and technology agreement with India, and discussing trade deals with China, Singapore and the U.S. as individual negotiations have become the only option for the country since there is no single market for South Asia.
Reminding that the UK is a country that built up and maintained economic success from the days of empire to the European single market, the Prime Minister said that it would be, in cricket parlance, a hit-wicket and expressed hope that the correct decision would be made on June 23.