Mangala Wijesinghe officially assumed duties as the 16th Chairman of the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) on 16th October at the EDB headquarters. In his address to the staff, Wijesinghe emphasised the need to diversify exports, focusing on high-tech industries like electronics and pharmaceuticals, following the examples of countries such as Singapore and South Korea. He also highlighted the importance of service exports, noting that revenue from these exports reached $3.1 billion in 2023, marking a 69% growth, driven mainly by ICT, logistics, transport, and construction.

He reiterated the government’s target of achieving $5 billion in ICT export revenue by 2030 and stressed the need to review and simplify the National Export Strategy to streamline complex approval processes. Wijesinghe called for expanding the export basket and increasing the number of exporters, aligning with the government’s goal of raising export revenue to $30 billion by 2030.

Before his EDB appointment, Mangala Wijesinghe served as COO of Browns & Company and brings over 25 years of experience in various sectors. His leadership is seen as a potential game-changer for Sri Lanka’s export sector, aiming to drive significant improvements in export performance and ease of doing business.