Industrial Policy for Sri Lanka?

By Anushka Wijesinha

JULY 24, 2026 | International Trade and Economic Competitiveness

On 13th July 2026, Centre for a Smart Future (CSF) and the SOAS Centre for Sustainable Finance hosted an Expert Roundtable in Colombo on ‘The Return of Industrial Policy: Considerations for Trade, Competitiveness, and Green Growth in Sri Lanka’. The session examined the global resurgence of industrial policy and what this shift means for a small economy like Sri Lanka.

The roundtable brought together leading policymakers from the Ministry of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Trade, the Export Development Board, and the National Innovation Agency, alongside private sector leaders from the apparel, technology, energy and business sectors. Academics and representatives from leading think tanks contributed alongside representatives from international organisations including the Asian Development Bank, the United Nations, and the World Bank.

Four speakers opened the discussion. Dr. Diana Barrowclough, Senior Economist at UNCTAD, distinguished what is old and new about the current global wave of industrial policy. Professor Ulrich Volz, Director of SOAS Centre for Sustainable Finance, made the case for finance as a core execution mechanism of industrial policy, particularly through a well-governed public development bank. Mr. Anushka Wijesinha, Co-founder and Director of Centre for a Smart Future, drew lessons from recent industrial policy approaches in other neighbouring countries. Dr. Asanka Wijesinghe, Research Fellow at Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, proposed a framework for export-led industrial policy in Sri Lanka, including sector selection criteria and tariff reform.

Discussions that followed drew on topics including whether to target specific sectors or fix economy-wide constraints, how to anchor policy against political discontinuity, and how to finance patient, long-term industrial investment. The session aimed to clarify what is new about this global wave, assess its relevance for Sri Lanka, and identify the institutional and financing capabilities the country would need to pursue it successfully.

Click here to download the Analytical Note summarising key observations and takeaways.

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