Participating in a live discussion with the state-run radio, Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, Cabraal said Sri Lanka managed to withstand the global economic meltdown and the world food crisis due to the pragmatic economic policies implemented under the President's leadership.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has given clear guidelines to draft the policies and to implement them to strengthen the economy, he said.
Under the tight monetary policies the Central Bank has maintained, currently the Bank has foreign reserves worth 5.5 billion dollars while the inflation rate remains at the lowest levels in the recent past, the Governor informed.
Cabraal pointed out that Sri Lanka has been able to increase the per capita income considerably from $ 1,000 few years ago to $ 2,014 by 2008 while keeping the unemployment rate low compared to other countries in the region.
Considering the country's strong economic growth during the past 5 years, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) earlier this year upgraded Sri Lanka to Middle Income Emerging Market Status from Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) eligible countries.
The government has been able to increase the local food production by continuing the fertilizer subsidy to the small scale cultivators.
Cautioning the public that certain groups are trying to portray a negative picture of the country's economy, the Central Bank Governor said the country's banking structure is stable.
According to the Central Bank governor the government obtained loans from international institutions only for the development projects.
Cabraal said the Central bank is launching an extensive programme to bring development to the villages under the Mahinda Chinthana policy to develop all regions of the country parallel to the Western Province. Country's banks will set up branches in the North and East to accelerate the development process in the region battered by the war, he added.
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