Economics primarily drive politics and this principle applies to Sri Lanka’s relations with almost the entirety of the world’s regions. The fact that economic interdependence is compelling this country to break new ground in its ties with the Middle East bears this out fully. Over the decades, Sri

By Rathindra Kuruwita There would be social and economic consequences of the decision to downsize the military as the rural economy in Sri Lanka had been in a state of crisis and stagnation long before the present economic crisis,  Associate Professor of the London School of Economics and Political

[…]The post 182 Experts Call For Debt Cancellation But Private Investors Play Hardball appeared first on Colombo Telegraph.

Prof. N. D. Samarawickreme (1943-2022)  We owe our existence to a string of unforeseeable events, repeated arbitrary fortune. My father was born in a rural part of the country. He was the eldest of ten siblings, who survived the circumstances and transitioned out of the village. The privileged upbringing and opportunities I had stand in […]

 By Chandre Dharmawardana chandre.dharma@yahoo.ca The terrorism of the LTTE ended in May 2009, and most Sri Lankans looked forward to a dawn of peace, reconciliation and progress.  Even Poongkothai Chandrahasan, the granddaughter of SJV Chelvanayagam could state that ‘what touched me the most that day was that these were poor people with no agenda ~ wearing their feelings on […]

. Wasantha Athukorala of Department of Economics of the Peradeniya […]

Institutions remain the most important factor for strengthening productivity and the investment climate in a country. Good governance, rule of law, and socio-political stability are crucial determinants of long-run economic growth. As famously described by Douglas North, “Institutions are the rules of the game in a society; more formally, they are the humanly devised constraints […]

by Rajan Philips President Wickremesinghe has a charming or annoying way, depending on who is listening, of switching between flippancy and seriousness no matter what the occasion is. Addressing the Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2022, an annual event organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, with ‘Resetting from turmoil to opportunity’ as this year’s theme, […]

BY DR. Asoka Bandarage On September 1, 2022, debt-trapped Sri Lanka reached a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a 48-month Extended Fund Facility of $2.9 billion, which hardly covers the country’s outstanding debt, nor its immediate survival needs. Nevertheless, IMF structural adjustment requires the country to meet its familiar debt restructuring […]

I am pleasantly surprised and marvel too most times I read the editorial in The Island. Why? Because they are so very apt on the most current issue in the land. The editor has the clever knack of hitting the nail right on the head and is fearless even when the nail represents a VVIP. […]

By Jehan Perera President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s warning that he is prepared to declare a state of national emergency and use the military to suppress any public protests for change of government would reflect the pressures he is under. The manner in which he has used the security forces to deal with the protest movement has […]

“Templeton Freedom Award has been won by Advocata Institute Sri Lanka. The CEO is our Dhana. It is with great pride I send this message to you to celebrate our dear friend Dhananath’s leadership victory of Advocata. Horekale and St Sebastian’s College man has really shown class.” That was Elmo Jayawardena’s email to me since […]

by Rajan Philips Ranil Wickremesinghe is the third President to sequester the finance portfolio instead of assigning it as an exclusive portfolio to a cabinet minister, but he is the first, perhaps after Ronnie de Mel, to prepare and author most or the entirety of the budget speech. He is also the first leader of […]