Sri Lanka’s central bank governor, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, says the election of Narendra Modi as India’s new prime minister will be good for his nation’s economy and make his job “a little easier.”

Getting India’s economy growing at a faster clip is going to be a top priority for Modi, who was propelled to power by voters in India who want better job opportunities, higher standards of living and a more efficient government.

The markets are optimistic that Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party will be better at getting things done than the last bunch of leaders in New Delhi.

A pro-business leader in India should be good for Sri Lanka for which India is a major export market.

“A strong, business-friendly government is definitely something to look forward to,” said Cabraal in an interview with The Wall Street Journal during a visit to London to meet investors.

Cabraal said the expects to see early signs of that positive impact on Sri Lankan exports later this year, while a boost to trade should “definitely be visible” in 2015.

After easing policy through much of 2013, the Sri Lankan central bank has left policy unchanged since a rate cut in January. With the outlook for the global and South Asian economy improving, the governor said it’s unlikely the central bank will need to make further changes to policy in the near term.

“It’s very unlikely that we would need to provide additional stimulus,” he said, adding that the central bank continues to expect economic growth of 7.8% this year.

Cabraal said the central bank expects to see the full impact of its easing through to be transmitted to the real economy in terms of lower borrowing costs over the next six months.

“There is still a little bit of space for long-term lending rates to contract further,” he said.

Cabraal said he was also encouraged by signs of a pickup in growth in the euro zone and the U.K. as Europe is also a major market for Sri Lanka’s exports.

“We are seeing some definite signs of improvement,” he said. “Going forward, an improvement in the European economy as well as the U.K. would be very helpful.”

(Wall Street Journal)