He was speaking at a press conference at the National Library, Colombo yesterday.
"According to government sources, attracting investors is one of the key objectives of signing this agreement.
But, Sri Lanka's IT industry has already attracted a large number of investors due to the proper mix of low cost and high skills prevailing in the country," he said.
He also said that the IT sector is the country's fifth largest export revenue earner. According to the SLASSCOM (Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies), there are around 100,000 IT professionals in the country.
He also said that the export revenue of the IT sector grew from US Dollars 200 million in 2007 to US Dollars 720 million in 2013.
"Sri Lanka has also set a target of US dollars 5 billion revenue provided employment to around 200,000 by 2020 in the IT industry. The IT industry is the future of this country and a large number of young Sri Lankans are willing to enter this field." Wickremasinghe said .
He further said that with the signing of the ETCA, the country's IT sector will be opened for the low grade IT professionals in India. They will come for low salaries since they are not first class IT Professionals. This will result in a drop in the basic salary point of IT professionals, which could lead to the collapse of the industry. International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrema recently said that the ETCA is relevant only to two main sectors, Ship Building and IT. He further said that there is no ship building in Sri Lanka.
Commenting on the Prime Minister's recent statement questioning the GMOA as to why the doctors interfere with political issues without doing their jobs, the SITP Secretary said as professionals, we like to do our jobs freely without interfering with government matters.
"If the government does its job properly, professionals do not need to intervene with government issues. But, if the government fails to do its job, as professional we too have a responsibility to fill that gap for the betterment of the country's people. But, our motive is not to send the government home or work against them," he said.
"Persons advising the relevant government authorities with regard to the ETCA could be experts on business agreements, but, they are not IT experts. Therefore, before signing the agreement, the government should conduct an in depth study into the subject.
Society members Kapila Perera and Isuru Randaka Kumara also spoke.
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