Sri Lanka has much to offer in terms of natural beauty, connectivity, and people and business prospects; but there is much that the country has yet to showcase to the world. “Many people still know relatively little about Sri Lanka,” said the CEO and Managing Director of Ansell Neil Salmon, on LMDtv, when he was here recently.

“They know it as a beautiful country with very friendly people; but other than that, they don’t know much else,” he stated.

From a business perspective, “the world doesn’t appreciate Sri Lanka too much,” he asserted, adding that the nation is still very much in its early stages of being understood by global corporations. “So I would like to tell those countries and organisations that companies that are here – like Ansell – see it as a destination they want to continue expanding in,” he affirmed.

Salmon noted: “When I was interviewed by LMD sometime ago, even before knowing how challenging it would be for Sri Lanka to recover from defaulting on its debts, I saw a country that was determined to get back on track. And those words have stood the test of time.”

He continued: “I feel very strongly that the country has made a far quicker and more successful recovery than expected.”

According to Salmon, “the current government has the right policies in place; it is talking about extending the ability of manufacturers to benefit from a broader supply chain in Sri Lanka. This means encouraging our raw material suppliers to come into the country, which would greatly benefit us.”

He also said it would be prudent for Sri Lanka to simplify the process of doing business, explaining that “regulatory hurdles are still prevalent; they’re complex and we need to be confident that we can pursue them ethically. The government’s twin focus is welcome in this regard.”

In addition, he emphasised that it is necessary to continue to improve infrastructure: “I’ve seen it improve notably on my many visits but there’s many more opportunities for which the lack of infrastructure can be a hurdle.”

An area he outlined as not having much conversation in terms of development is education.

He elaborated: “I haven’t heard the government’s plans for education; and even though I’m optimistic about Sri Lanka, I also have a concern – because if the talent base doesn’t keep pace with the [international] companies coming in, it’s going to become more difficult to do business here.”

“So having a strategy for education, and encouraging expats to return home and participate in the growth of the country, will be very important,” he stressed.

Salmon also commented on the impact of US tariffs and ensuing trade wars on Sri Lanka: “If the muted reciprocal ta­riffs come in at 44 percent, that would very seriously impact the country and presence of manufacturers here.”

However, he acknowledged that “Sri Lanka has been very smart about how it has approached this challenge, where no one quite knows what the rules are.”

“Sri Lanka has been one of the most proactive countries in the world to conduct trade discussions so far, and I think it’s addressing the right points with the US administration,” he opined, adding that the country has given itself the best possible chance at this stage.

Salmon hit an optimistic tone when he said that “if there’s a more favourable outcome for Sri Lanka than for other countries in South and Southeast Asia, it could turn out to be a very big positive for the country… However, things are on a knife-edge and we’ll have to wait and see.”

“I think that in this world of uncertainty, providing stability and consistency is probably most important,” he underlined, adding: “I hope the country stays on course towards development and is consistent, indicating what will be done in advance and maintaining the support of the people.”

In summing up, he stated: “A period of stability, consistent policy and good execution of that policy would be most important for Sri Lanka right now; and we would look very favourably towards the outcome.”