Tomas Pueyo recently wrote an article “Why Half of Humanity Lives in This Circle”. The circle he is referring to is known as the Valeriepieris circle as it was posted on the site Reddit by Ken Myers under the username valeriepieris. This circle is in much of Asia. I found it interesting as Sri Lanka is part of this circle. Sri Lanka is also part of the world’s most populated continent, Asia. I decided to write an article about Sri Lanka’s role in the circle which can also extend to Sri Lanka’s role in Asia. I’m presenting a positive fact about Sri Lanka with suggestions on how Sri Lanka can take advantage of this, especially during its current economic crisis.
Ken Myers’ Valeriepieris Circle from Reddit
Exports
This is a region that Sri Lanka can work on increasing its exports. Exporters of food should look for countries in this region who have a demand for agricultural items and packaged goods. Some packaged goods can be popular in regions nearby due to similarities in culture with Sri Lanka including neighbour India that is one of the world’s most populous countries. Items can be produced in Sri Lanka to support products manufactured in this region e.g. car parts. In the process of our export diversification, it’s important to look at how it can support this region.
FDI & Business Collaboration
Sri Lanka should try to seek foreign direct investment (FDI) from this region. We need to attract investment from successful industries in these countries to improve their counterparts in Sri Lanka. Companies from these countries can open offices in Sri Lanka to provide jobs with higher salaries than average. Sri Lankan businesses can seek business projects servicing clients in this region to cater to the majority of the world’s population.
Two years ago on this blog, I had mentioned an agreement signed between Sri Lanka’s Confederation of Micro, Small and Medium Industries (COSMI) and the European Association for Trade - Crafts - Industries (EIVHGI) in Vienna. Similar agreements can be signed with business organisations in this region.
Learn from Countries’ Successes
Countries in this circle have successes they are highly regarded for which Sri Lanka can learn from. I’ll give two countries’ successes. The South Korean economy went from an agricultural economy like Sri Lanka to one of the world’s leading economies. South Korea initiated policy reforms that led to significant growth in exports. Two important factors are the improvements they made in performing business and policies in support of innovation.
Singapore has taken strides in the fight against corruption. Their government agency responsible for investigating bribery and corruption is the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB). When Singapore received self-governance in 1959, corruption was very prevalent in the government. Years later, following Singapore’s independence, laws were updated to strengthen the powers of CPIB officers and increase penalties for those guilty of corruption. It’s important to note that the CPIB’s powers to investigate corruption includes the private sector. These are a few positive changes initiated in these countries with many more successes to learn from. We can invite professionals from these countries to bring their expertise to help improve Sri Lanka.
Movement
This idea goes beyond Sri Lanka with the potential for a movement that can invite people from all these countries to have a voice on the world stage. This should be carried out by ordinary people and not involve politicians due to issues of bribery, corruption and bad character being unfortunately present among politicians in Asia. A focus on this movement should be on common improvements people in this circle wish to see.
This was a simple exercise I carried out. Sri Lanka being part of the world’s most populous region is a little-known positive fact for Sri Lankans to enjoy. I invite others to contribute on this topic. I’m keen to see what others can come up with using an in-depth analysis for Sri Lanka and other countries in the Valeriepieris circle. If you enjoyed reading this, you may be interested in my blog posts “Virtually Exploring Five Asian Cities” or “Sri Lankan Private Sector Development Proposal”.
