With biggest markets at doorstep, Sri Lanka in a sweet spot: Kishore Mahbubani

ONE of Asia’s most widely known commentators and spokespeople, Prof. Kishore Mahbubani last week in Colombo said strategically located Sri Lanka is at a sweet spot to benefit from the world’s biggest markets at its doorstep, provided there are consistent policies, a collective effort, and smarter geopolitical scaling.

- BY RANDIMA ATTYGALLE

A Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Research Institute (ARI), National University of Singapore (NUS), Prof. Mahbubani shared some solid advice for Sri Lanka with global examples and insights at a forum titled ‘Navigating the Asian Century—Opportunities and Risks for Sri Lanka.’

The Singaporean diplomat and geopolitical consultant, who served as Singapore Permanent Representative to the UN and UN Security Council President, shared his insights under three broad pillars: why Asian countries will make it, challenges for Asia, and risks and opportunities for Sri Lanka.

“The world has done Sri Lanka a huge favour by bringing the world’s biggest markets to its doorstep,” he remarked. “There are at least 3.5 billion people from India, China, and Southeast Asia, all within a matter of six to eight hours away from Sri Lanka. First thing people would want to do in a growing economy is to travel, and Sri Lanka should seize this opportunity and leverage the country’s tourism sector,” he said.

The growing distrust between China and India is another matter to take stock of which can impact Sri Lanka in a big way, and the country needs to figure out how to manage this contest. “If you can find a way to win the trust of both China and India, you will be in a real sweet spot, but it requires a remarkable amount of geopolitical scaling which requires a lot of hard work and a massive investment of timing and resources. But if you could do that, you can take advantage of the great opportunities which are coming your way.”