It was not IMF which saved Sri Lanka: Ranil

By Yohan Perera   

While highlighting that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has not been Sri Lamka’s saviour, Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe said the island nation has to think of the future, in relation to geo politics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) , automation and climate change   

“At the end of the day it was not the IMF which  saved us. We did get some millions of dollars from the IMF. We were saved because of the $ 4 billion cheque written by India. The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank gave us $ 600 million. Bangladesh gave us $ 100 million. US Aid gave something useful. It gave $ 50 million in fertilizer during the harvest. This is how we pulled through. How are we to put our economy in order?” Wickremesinghe posed a question during the program which was named ‘Read with Ranil’ held in Colombo on Wednesday.   

“What is going to be our future? Our per capita income ha’s been dropping and dropping. By 2050 Bangladesh may have a high per capita income. Bangladesh was much poorer than us in 1977. Their GDP is high. Vietnam was much poorer than us when the war was over. Their GDP will go up to $ 2 trillion by 2050. We are not getting anywhere close to $ 2 trillion. What is the future of our country? How are you going to buy a house, a car and good job? The Government will have to do it. A high growth is needed to achieve these goals. There has to be growth. By 2050 you have to think of your children’s children and how they are going to purchase a house. What are you going to do about it? You have to fit into this age, climate change and AI? The Indian population is still growing. As the population gets older, the younger generation will have to support you. You will be asking the young people who will be in a smaller base to support the old. This is how we will have to look at the future. How are we to bring about these changes in accordance with this situation . the Bay of Bengal is going to be an important area in the world. How are we going to work out our relations? I have worked out a mission statement with India to work alongside them and worked on the security conclave. You have to work something out with India.” he added.   

The country with the largest GDP will be China. It will be $ 50 trillion plus. Then comes India with $ 44 trillion followed by the USA. Some in the USA say USA will be second and India would be third. It is immaterial. The gap is so small. Then you will have the next big one Indonesia with $ 10 trillion. Bangladesh will have a GDP of $ 3 trillion , if they develop faster they can go up to $ 4.5 trillion. Malaysia and Thailand will have $ 2 trillion. That is how the world is going to be. However,  power will be with Asia. That is one shift in the world. Secondly there is also West Asia. They will also end up being wealthier. Towards the other end it will be Africa. China is putting all its focus on Africa and they tend to build them. Because that will be the next continent that will develop fast. China and the Western countries are trying to help construct two railways across Africa. Starting from Kenya, going through Uganda and on to Cameroon. The other will cut through Angola in the Ruwanda Railway and come out in Darussalam.   

If you look at nuclear power, there is America and second is Russia. Russia’s economic strength is enough to carry missiles. What some fear is Russia and China will have more missiles than the US. . India and many others have missiles. It is a changing world order. It is moving away from Europe. I must say in fairness to President Trump that he has identified the situation.   

There is also another issue. The status of Iran. There is going to be war again in Iran. There is bombing daily.   

 It is relations that matter, especially in Asia with the Taiwan issue. Many have relied on America when it comes to  foreign policy. You cannot rely on America anymore. Why should we work it out with America?   

What are the other developments we can look at? . One of the biggest impacts is going to be climate change by 2050. Have you got enough water, power? The Second is the issue of AI and automation. It is going to put certain people out of work. Some will have work. AI cannot knock lawyers out. Some of the accountants will get knocked out. Factories will be automated. The issue is when you put AI and automation together, the number of people you require to work will be less, he said..