The United States and Sri Lanka marked the fourteenth Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council Meeting in Colombo today (18), solidifying their commitment to enhancing trade and investment relations. The technical level meeting, co-chaired by  K.J. Weerasinghe of the Government of Sri Lanka and  Brendan Lynch, Acting Assistant United States Trade Representative for South […]

Delivering the keynote address at former President J R Jayawardena’s birth anniversary commemoration held on Sunday at the Jayawardene Center in Colombo 07, former speaker  Karu Jayasuriya said the former president is a role model for contemporary political leaders. Former speaker Karu Jayasuriya said- “As an impartial observer, I am delighted to partake in this […]

The country’s economy has contracted at the rate of 3.1% in the second quarter of 2023, according to recent data by the Census and Statistics Department. The Department in its estimated Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2023, on Friday said that this economic downturn marked an improvement from the alarming 11.5% […]

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his speech at the Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the G77 and China in Havana, Cuba, on Friday, emphasised the crucial role science, technology and innovation play in overcoming the current development challenges faced by developing nations worldwide. President Wickremesinghe began his speech by commending Cuban President […]

The Sri Lankan High Commission in London owes 652,120 pounds sterling to the UK government, according to a report submitted to the UK Parliament by the British Foreign Office. Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) David Rutley has, in a written reply to UK Parliament, said that a large number of foreign embassies in […]

Monday 18th September, 2023 Some henchmen of the Rajapaksa family, which is responsible for ruining the economy, have taken upon themselves the task of investigating the causes of the country’s bankruptcy! They are all out to absolve their political masters of wrongdoing in a bid to shore up the latter’s chances of winning future elections. […]

By Shihar Aneez ECONOMYNEXT –The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) informed the members of the EPF, the country’s largest pension scheme, that it has opted for the government’s domestic debt optimization (DDO) option with a long-term view in the best interest of the members. It said the two options given to the EPF under […]

By Rathiindra Kuruwita The Sri Lankan government has neither attempted to enforce the agreements that doctors enter into before leaving for foreign training nor have they attempted to improve the conditions of doctors in the country and these are the reasons why a large number of health professionals are leaving the country, Sri Lanka Medical […]

Global rating agency, Fitch, in its latest report downgraded Sri Lanka’s Long-Term Local-Currency (LTLFC) Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘RD’ (Restricted Default) from ‘C’. In a press release Fitch said the ratings on its local-currency bonds tendered in the domestic debt exchange have been downgraded to ‘D’ from ‘C’ while its other four local-currency bonds […]

President Ranil Wickremesinghe delivered a compelling address at the Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the G77 & China in Havana, Cuba yesterday (15). In his speech, President Wickremesinghe emphasized the crucial role of science, technology and innovation in overcoming the current development challenges faced by developing nations worldwide. President Wickremesinghe began […...

Interesting reading on the Internet about the likely name change of India to Bharat. Curious how before any change was officially made, PM Modi sat at the head of the discussion table of G20 delegates behind the country name-board ‘Bharat’. Curiouser it was that the government decided to send out invitations to G20 delegates for […]

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has submitted an offer to exchange the portfolio of their Treasury Bonds under the Domestic Debt Optimisation (DDO) programme, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) reported today (13 Sep.).

President Ranil Wickremesinghe is set to take the helm of the Sri Lankan delegation at the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. He will address the General Assembly on September 21 and his speech will revolve around the theme ‘Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: accelerating action on the 2030 […]

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ali Sabri PC,at a press conference convened at the Presidential Media Centre on Wednesday (13) under the theme of ‘A Collective Path towards a Stable Nation’  officially announced that the revised Anti-Terrorism Act will be gazetted within the next fortnight. . This significant legislative development has been amended in alignment […]

While the progressive empowerment of people and their steady liberation from the forces of state repression could be regarded as being at the heart of democratic governance, it is imperative that the defenders of democracy everywhere ensure that these basic aims are achieved and protected by governments claiming loyalty to the fundamental ideals of democracy. […]