Indian HC Santosh Jha yesterday (10) explained how the worldwide Covid-19 epidemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict had enhanced the Indo-Lanka ‘relationship.’Addressing the India-Sri Lanka Defence Seminar at the Taj, Jha said: “Like in other areas, we are cooperating

Colombo has demonstrated its own brand of strategic autonomy on issues from Russia’s war in Ukraine to China’s global footprint By Michael Kugelman Most South Asian governments tend to have nonaligned foreign policies, balancing their relations with major powers. This maximizes their diplomatic flexibility and ability to operate independently on the world stage, also known as […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando By the time President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had arrived in Singapore in the second week of July 2022, a few days after fleeing Sri Lanka, he firmly believed that then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was the only person capable of restoring the rule of law in the country. In the chapter titled ‘The […]

President Ranil Wickremesinghe told the Indian Ocean Security Conference in Colombo that the sanctions imposed on Russia over the war in Ukraine had not caused the collapse of the Russian economy, which had just shifted eastwards. The following is the text of the statement issued at the conference

By EMERITUS PROFESSOR RANJITH SENARATNE, Chairman, National Science Foundation and former General President, Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science The global order in a state of flux Rapid economic and political changes in emerging economies and developing countries have an impact on the existing world order that is gradually moving from a Western-centred […]

Secretary to the Treasury and Finance Ministry Mahinda Siriwardana has said that even if Sri Lanka achieves the goal of zero corruption, tax revenue will still have to be increased to bridge the budget deficit and lessen the country’s debt burden. Referring to the Supreme Court ruling pertaining to economic management delivered on Nov 14, […]

, to Russia, where Vladimir Putin is set for another term amid heightened tensions with the […]

Pakistan’s election body has rejected former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s nomination to contest the 2024 parliamentary elections, with Khan’s Pakistan Tahreek-e Insaf (PTI) party accusing authorities of stopping most of its candidates from participating in the elections due in February. The 71-year-old former cricket star, who is serving a three-year prison sentence for corruption, was […]

Monday 25th December, 2023 Christmas has dawned with the message of peace, love and hope while the world is embroiled in multiple crises which have not spared even the birthplace of Jesus Christ. Bethlehem, under the shadow of war, is devoid of customary Christmas celebrations this year, according to media reports. Nothing will however diminish […]

[An article based on the Keynote Address delivered by Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, recently at the Annual Research Symposium 2023 of the University of Colombo] Introduction Inflation affects every aspect of our lives; it is a force that shapes our purchasing power, influences our financial decisions, and […]

By Uditha Devapriya On Tuesday, December 12, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution demanding a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The United States was one of 10 countries to oppose, the others including Guatemala, Nauru, and Paraguay, and of course Israel. New Zealand, Canada, and Australia were among the 153 countries to vote in favour, […]

Thuesday 22nd August, 2023 No sooner had the Indian government announced its decision to impose a 40% tax on onion exports to overcome a shortfall in the domestic supply than Sri Lankan traders jacked up onion prices exponentially. They would not have reacted so swiftly to a drop in onion prices in the international market. […]

During the question-and-answer session, Dr. Dushni Weerakoon questioned the sustainability of Sri Lanka’s non-aligned foreign policy, as it weakened the country’s position in trade negotiations. The expert assertion was certainly not restricted to trade negotiations. Having signed ACSA (Access and Cross Servicing-Agreement) with the US, in August 2017, it would be ridiculous to still talk […...