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“We
believe that the central challenge we face today
is to ensure that globalization becomes a positive
force for all the world’s people.”
Millennium Declaration
“A programme
will be launched to provide capital, technology
and knowledge required by the local entrepreneurs
to penetrate into international markets.”
Mahinda Chintana
A global partnership for development means that
rich and poor countries work together to eradicate
poverty worldwide. It stresses the critical
need for developed countries to support developing
ones grasp opportunities for accelerated and sustained
development, through aid, debt relief, fair
trade and technology transfer.
Sri Lanka needs to strengthen and develop new partnerships
with other countries within and outside the region
in order to accelerate the economic, political and
social development of the nation.
Goal 8 comprises Targets 12, 15, 16 and 18. |
 |
Target 12: Develop further
an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory
trading and financial system.
Gains from trade are important
sources of growth and resources for attaining the
MDGs. Target 12 promotes global partnerships
for trade. |
|
| It is important
for developing countries to take advantage of the potential
of global trade to boost economic growth; trade tariffs
imposed on their products and subsidies paid in developed
countries hinder developing countries’ penetration
of rich, foreign markets. Developed countries should
increase possibilities for developing ones to maximise
export opportunities. |
|
Current
Status
Extensive economic reforms
were introduced in Sri Lanka in the late 1970s to liberalise
trade. Since then Sri Lanka’s trade policy
has focused on regional trade. |
|
Government
Strategies and Progress
While Sri Lanka is committed
to promoting an unrestricted multilateral trading system,
it has been more active in promoting regional trade
links.
Sri Lanka is a signatory to several
regional trade agreements, including: the South Asian
Preferential Trading Agreement (SAPTA), the Bangkok
Agreement (BA), the Generalized System of Preferences
(GSP), the Global System of Trade Preferences (GSTP),
the Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA), the
Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA),
a Free Trade Agreement with Pakistan, a Free Trade Agreement
with India. In addition Sri Lanka has signed the Trade
and Investment Framework (TIFA) with the USA. |
|
Support
District budgets linked to MDG
targets
NCED
Clusters
District
Map |
|
Challenges
Sri Lanka’s concentration
of garments and tea exports to few export markets (EU,
USA) indicates the country’s need for export development.
Sri Lanka should focus on:
|
| • |
Exploiting export
market opportunities in developed countries |
| • |
Encouraging review of existing
trade agreements |
| • |
Consolidating integration amongst
developing countries, particularly at regional level. |
| |
|
|
| In addition, foreign and
domestic investments should be attracted and be more equitably
distributed at the regional level. In this respect,
Sri Lanka needs should create a conducive investment climate
through institutional and tax reforms (Source; UNCTAD
IPR, MDG Country Report Sri Lanka 2005). |
|
| Target 15: Deal
comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries
through national-international measures in order to make
debt sustainable in the long term |
| How do we measure
progress towards Target 15? Through the following indicators: |
|
| The Key
Indicators |
| Indicator
33 |
Net ODA, total and
to LDCs, as percentage of OECD/DAC donors' GNI |
| Indicator 34 |
Proportion of total bilateral,
sector-allocable ODA of OECD/DAC donors to basic
social services (basic education, primary health
care, nutrition, safe water and sanitation) |
| Indicator 35 |
Proportion of bilateral ODA of
OECD/DAC donors that is untied |
| Indicator 36 |
ODA received in landlocked developing
countries as proportion of their GNIs |
| Indicator 37 |
ODA received in small island
developing States as proportion of their GNIs |
| Indicator 38 |
Proportion of total developed
country imports (by value and excluding arms) from
developing countries and from LDCs, admitted free
of duties |
| Indicator 39 |
Average tariffs imposed by developed
countries on agricultural products and textiles
and clothing from developing countries |
| Indicator 40 |
Agricultural support estimate
for OECD countries as percentage of their GDP |
| Indicator 41 |
Proportion of ODA provided to
help build trade capacity |
| Indicator 42 |
Total number of countries that
have reached their HIPC decision points and number
that have reached their HIPC completion points (cumulative) |
| Indicator 43 |
Debt relief committed under HIPC
initiative, US$ |
| Indicator 44 |
Debt service as a percentage
of exports of goods and services |
|
|
| Current Status |
 |
|
Support
District budgets linked to MDG
targets
NCED
Clusters
District
Map |
|
Challenges
Sri Lanka must make
more effective and efficient utilisation of aid funds. |
|
Target
16: Develop and Implement Strategies for Decent and
Productive Work for Youth
Youth unemployment or
low-status jobs are likely to lead to poverty, illiteracy,
ill-health, HIV/AIDS, crime and conflict in and beyond
their generation. With these effects in mind,
heads of state signatories of the Millennium Declaration
agreed to prepare and put into action concerted plans
to ensure decent jobs for youth.
In 2002 there were 1,080,403 young people in Sri Lanka
who were not employed. This situation calls for
the development and implementation of economic policies
aiming at creating decent jobs for this young workforce.
How can we measure progress towards target 16?
Through the following indicator:
The
Key Indicator:
45. Unemployment rate of young
people aged 15-24 years, each sex and total |
|
| Current Status |
 |
In Sri Lanka, between 1990 and 2002 over 60% of
unemployed people have been from the 15 to 24 year
age group.
In 2002 the highest unemployment figure has been
reported in the Southern Province, both for men
and women, with unemployment rates of 29.5% and
49.3% respectively. In addition, over 54%
of the unemployed in 2002 were qualified at least
at ‘O’ Level or above, indicating that
more teenagers choose to remain in school before
looking for employment. - (Source: MDG Country Report
2005) |
|
|
Government Strategies and Progress
The Government recruited 42,000 graduates into
public administration and recruited 12,000 into nursing,
clerical and other fields.
In 2005, 53,000 youth enrolled in the public technical
and vocational educational institutions. National
vocational training accredited courses were established
in the same year.
Entrepreneurship development and self-employment programmes
are also being promoted, with training and loan facilities
offered to youth. 348 programmes in 17 districts
were implemented to promote micro-entrepreneurship.
The National Youth Services Council held job fairs, trained
youth in job-oriented fields and helped them to start
up micro-businesses. - (Source: Ministry of Finance and
Planning Annual Report, 2005) |
|
Support
District budgets linked to MDG
targets
NCED
Clusters
District
Map |
|
| Challenges |
| • |
Macro-economic policy
to focus on quality job creation |
| • |
Improve employability of youth
through |
| |
a) improving educational and vocational training
system and
b) facilitating school to work transition
|
| • |
Eliminating existing gender,
class, creed and race biases to ensure equal opportunities
to all youth. |
|
|
Target
18: In Cooperation with the Private Sector Make Available
the Benefits of New Technologies, especially Information
and Communications Technology.
Over the past decade,
there has been phenomenal growth in the information
and communications technology (ICT) in Sri Lanka.
However, the benefits of this revolution have been unevenly
distributed. Access to ICT must be made available
to all sections of society in order to ensure an even
development. Countrywide, Sri Lanka needs to invest
more in order to reap the benefits of ICT.
How can we measure progress towards Target 18? Through
the following indicators: |
|
| The
Key Indicators are: |
| 47 |
Telephone lines and
cellular subscribers per 100 population |
| 48 |
a. Personal computers in use
per 100 population |
| |
b. Internet users per 100 population |
|
|
| Current
Status |
 |
|
The
relatively high cost of internet access, lack of
proficiency in English and computer literacy has
meant that telecommunication and internet use has
been limited to the Western Province. This
has caused a wide technological disparity between
rural and urban areas which may seriously impede
the country’s development effort.
Telecommunications
The period 1990 to 2002 saw significant changes
in the telecommunications sector with fixed telephone
connections growing by over 700%, from 121,388 to
881,108. During the same period, cellular
telephone connections recorded extraordinary growth
(almost 900%), surpassing fixed line connections
in 2002. In 1990 there were only 1,010 cellular
connections which by 2002 increased to 907,422.
Internet Access
Presently there are 150,000 personal computers in
the island; a density of 0.79 PCs for every 100
persons. Even though internet facilities have been
available since 1984, the high cost and lack of
computer literacy had restricted their use to a
few. Commercial internet access became available
in 1995 and in 2004 there were 30 licensed Internet
Service Providers. Although internet use is growing,
the rate is at less than optimum, with costs still
prohibitive for the majority of the computer-literate
population. |
|
|
Government
Strategies and Progress
Integration of ICT into
the school curriculum as a common subject has been included
in the national education policy, with 2,300 schools
offering it as an Advanced Level subject.
A large number of Information Technology
Resource Centres were established throughout the country
to promote IT education in schools. In 2005
four universities increased by 500 the number of students
enrolling in IT and Computer Science-related courses.
The Nenasala Programme was initiated to afford rural
youth the opportunity to learn computer skills.
It is proposed that 1000 teaching centres be established
under this scheme.
The Gamata Thankshanya Programme (Vidatha)
facilitates the sharing of science and technology to
village centres by giving the rural population access
to knowledge at research and development centres.
(Source: Ministry of Finance and Planning
Annual Report, 2005) |
|
Support
District budgets linked to MDG
targets
NCED
Clusters
District
Map |
|
Challenges
Sri Lanka needs to address
the following issues to ensure more equity in the benefits
of telecommunication technology and bridge the digital
divide between urban and rural areas. |
|
| 1. |
An urban-rural
partnership in ICT infrastructure development is
required, as most of the telecommunication and internet
users are concentrated in Greater Colombo. |
| 2. |
Overcome the issue of high
costs related with PC and internet use, especially
in rural areas. |
| 3. |
Address the issue of general
low computer literacy. |
| 4. |
Address the issue of an
acute shortage of skilled ICT professionals, especially
in the rural areas, hindering the development of
this sector. |
| 5. |
Address the issue of inadequate
English proficiency |
| 6. |
Address the issue of lack
of standardized local fonts in the local languages. |
|
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