Joining China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project four years ago was a “hasty and disastrous” decision. This statement is from the Minister of Defense of Italy. An interview with Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto was published on Sunday, in which he said China’s involvement in the project was a “disastrous decision.” He also explained […]

Monday 31st July, 2023 French President Emmanuel Macron, who was here briefly, a few days ago, has reportedly pledged his country’s support for Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring process. Other creditor nations, too, have offered to help this country come out of the present economic crisis

Jawaharlal Nehru University facilitates talk on ‘structural genocide’ By Shamindra Ferdinando SLPP MP retired Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera yesterday (24) accused Canadian High Commissioner Eric Walsh of backing those propagating separatist sentiments. The former Public Security Minister, who is also the Chairman of the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on National Security, claimed that the HC’...

Sri Lanka is considering the possibility of allowing the use of the Indian rupee for local transactions, as the island nation struggles to build its depleted foreign reserves and to emerge from last year s unprecedented economic crisis.

by Y P Prakash The Sri Lankan government, led by Power & Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara, has placed significant emphasis on regional energy integration and grid connectivity between Sri Lanka and India. The target for implementing this initiative is 2030. Discussions regarding regional energy integration have been ongoing for more than two decades, and the […]

Sri Lanka has received foreign grants amounting to EUR 9.8 mn meant to improve transparency and accountability in public finance expenditure. The EU disclosed the grant in a statement issued yesterday. According to the statement, the government, the World Bank, the European Union (EU) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) have signed financing agreements to […]

World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka Faris Hadad-Zervos has commended Sri Lanka s efforts thus far with regards to finding solutions for the island s economic crisis.

Sri Lanka born international economist Dr. Howard Nicholas of Erasmus University, Netherlands has categorically stated that Sri Lanka must not adopt the IMF recommendations on monetary policy for it has no rational basis and evidence of success anywhere in the world. Coming from a Western based economist that provides a lot of food for thought […]

Monday 17th July, 2023 The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena to investigate the causes of the country’s bankruptcy has come in for severe criticism, and understandably so. The Opposition has rightly pointed out that the PSC cannot be expected to act impartially under the chairmanship of General Secretary of the […]

By Shyam Nuwan Ganewatta The IMF in 2020 told nations around the world that they should maintain a budget deficit to tackle the effects of COVID-19, however, two years later, the IMF insists that this would lead to chaos, Dr. Howard Nicholas, senior lecturer at Erasmus University – Rotterdam, and International Institute of Social Studies […]

By Dr. C. S. Weeraratna (csweera@sltnet.lk) Poverty is a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, such as food, shelter, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, and education. Various criteria are used to measure poverty. The most commonly used is based on incomes. A person is considered poor if his or her income level […]

Udeni Kaluthantri, a 54-year-old port worker, became an overnight sensation last year for reasons that had nothing to do with his job. Days after protesters stormed the presidential palace in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, a video surfaced of Mr Kaluthantri lounging on a bed draped with the presidential flag. Pictures of young men jumping […]

By NESHELLA PERERA ECONOMYNEXT –Sri Lankan citizens aged more than 18 years will have to open tax files because they chose the country’s leaders by voting, which influence country’s policies, State Minister of Higher Education Minister Suren Raghavan said. After the sovereign debt crisis hit island

By SHIHAR ANEEZ ECONOMYNEXT –Sri Lanka will discuss its bilateral debt restructuring process separately with China, but Beijing will be treated equally as the other bilateral lenders, the island nation’s Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said. Sri Lanka has already started negotiations with its bilateral lenders through Paris Club members and non-Paris Club members. China, however, has […]

India plans to allow Sri Lanka up to 12 years to repay its debt to help ease the financial burden on the country, India’s Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) Ltd’s Chairman-cum-Managing Director M. Senthilnathan said. Sri Lanka, facing its worst economic and political crisis in over seven