Hon. Thalatha Dissanayake

¶ 01 Proceeding in line with international agreements, we must protect our commitments and move forward. Therefore, we have a clear and orderly plan to stabilize the economy and deliver benefits to the people as fast as possible. Some Opposition MPs say this Government has had 100 days. Perhaps that is according to their calendar. Officially, Parliament has sat only about seven weeks. They are counting from the Presidential Election. They want to create a wrong impression that months have gone by and nothing has happened, to stir unnecessary urgency. We know why.

¶ 02 We have opposed certain projects and agreements in the past because of anti-national features or harmful conditions. Even then, our aim was to bring those projects to a better place for the country. Some of those projects and agreements are now functioning; that is not a problem if we can manage them to secure better benefits.

¶ 03 Today we are debating several regulations and an order important to the economy. Under the Import and Export (Control) Act, we are introducing 34 new SLS standards and corresponding HS codes to align with rising global standards, especially for food. This regulatory work is important if we are to move with the world.

¶ 04 There is also much discussion about “hawala” and similar informal value transfer methods. These are not new; they have existed for a long time globally. The issue is that they often escape our notice. Hence the 2024 No. 1 Regulations for Money or Value Transfer Service (MVTS) providers are presented, to establish proper recognition and regulatory mechanisms in line with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) guidance. Authorities have also observed in 2021–2022 that such transfers can facilitate money laundering and, in some instances, terrorism. To monitor these, we must make new laws and regulations.

¶ 05 All these proposals are about reforms and new regulations necessary for Sri Lanka to move forward with the modern world. We clearly state to the people and the Opposition: having won the election, we are managing the economy prudently to deliver benefits. Thank you for the opportunity, Hon. Presiding Member.