Skip to Main Navigation
BRIEFJuly 14, 2025

We Are Updating the World Bank Group’s 5-Year Country Strategy for Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Skyline

Public Consultations: July 14 to July 31, 2025

The World Bank Group (WBG) is updating its Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Sri Lanka for the next five years. As part of this we are engaging a broad range of stakeholders, including government representatives, development partners, civil society, think tanks, academia, and the private sector.

We invite you to participate in this process and share your ideas and feedback.

Why This Matters

The updated CPF will guide the WBG’s support for Sri Lanka over the next five years and support job creation through private-sector-led growth. In line with the WBG’s new country engagement approach, the strategy will be outcome-oriented and selective, and designed to foster public and private partnerships to address development challenges.

What the Strategy Will Focus On

The updated strategy will support targeted efforts in three key outcome areas, supported by a cross-cutting priority:

1. Enhanced Business Environment for Investment and Exports

  • Supporting fiscal and financial sector stability and better governance
  • Addressing constraints to private capital mobilization and strengthening the business environment, including tax and trade policies improvements
  • Supporting reforms to improve land, labor, and access to finance

2. Improved Infrastructure and Skills for Competitiveness

  • Modernizing ports and logistics (e.g. expansion of the Port of Colombo)
  • Facilitating renewable energy through private investment and infrastructure upgrades
  • Promoting market-relevant skills and entrepreneurship, with a focus on women

3. Accelerated Job-Creation in Tourism, Agri-business, and Lagging Regions

  • Increasing value from tourism and job creation
  • Supporting rural employment through export-oriented agri-business and niche manufacturing
  • Strengthening infrastructure and value chains in underserved areas, including the Northern and Eastern Provinces

Cross-cutting priority: Resilience to Shocks

  • Enhancing climate resilience and adaptation
  • Strengthening community-level resilience through social protection and expanding access to healthcare and nutrition services

These efforts aim to help position Sri Lanka on a path to inclusive, resilient, and sustainable economic growth.

Learn more: Updating the Sri Lanka Country Partnership Strategy FY26-30

We Want to Hear from You

We welcome your views on the following:

  1. Are we focusing on the right priorities for Sri Lanka’s development and private sector-led growth and job creation? How should we sequence and prioritize these initiatives to maximize development impact?
  2. How can the CPF be effectively implemented? What are the key success factors and/or potential barriers?
  3. In what ways can partnerships, both public and private, be strengthened to address Sri Lanka’s development challenges?
  4. How can the WBG ensure systematic engagement, feedback and communication with stakeholders throughout the strategy's implementation?

Please share any other ideas you may have.

Share Your Feedback

Interested stakeholders can provide feedback through our online consultation process, which will be open from July 14, 2025, to July 31, 2025.

Please send your comments, suggestions, or questions by email to the World Bank Group in Sri Lanka via the following:

📧 Email: infosrilanka@worldbank.org (Subject line: ‘SL CPF Consultations’)
📅 Consultation period: July 14 – July 31, 2025