President Ranil Wickremesinghe had ordered an investigation into a notification issued to Russian and Ukrainian tourists, without prior Cabinet approval, that they had to leave the country within 14 days, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said on Sunday (25). The PMD said the Sri Lankan government had not officially decided to revoke the visa extensions […]

Addressing the 37th session of the Asia and Pacific Regional Conference (APRC) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Colombo today (20), President Ranil Wickremesinghe affirmed the government’s dedication to elevating Sri Lanka as a prominent exporter of agricultural produce through rapid agricultural sector transformation. He emphasized the pivotal role […]

Sri Lanka has made record earnings from tourism in the first 45 days of this year, amounting to seven billion rupees (about 22.4 million U.S. dollars) from 306,708 tourists. Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Director General Nalin Perera said that there is a surge in tourism in Sri Lanka and that the country is […]

Promises good economic and political relations with China A National People’s Power (NPP) administration will not do anything that will undermine Indian security; however, it will maintain economic and political relations with China, the NPP delegation to India told Indian officials, NPP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said on Thursday (15) night. In his first interview since […]

By Rathindra Kuruwita A National People’s Power (NPP) administration will not do anything that will undermine Indian security, but it will maintain economic and political relations with China, the NPP delegation to India told Indian officials, JVP/NPP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said in an interview with Sirasa TV, on Thursday (15). In his first interview […]

President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his address at the 7th Indian Ocean Conference in Perth, focusing on the theme “Towards a Stable and Sustainable Indian Ocean, ” emphasized the urgency of addressing the climate crisis, noting the Indian Ocean’s vulnerability to warming and rising sea levels. He proposed initiatives such as the Tropical Belt Initiative and […]

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 […]

ECONOMYNEXT –An Indian firm is in the process of getting permission to manage Sri Lanka’s three airports including the main Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) where the there is an over saturation in foreign tourists, Tourism Minister Harin Fernando said. The island nation is expecting 2.2 million tourists for 2024, but the main airport needs capacity […]

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, […]

Minister of Tourism, Lands,  Sports and Youth Affairs Harin Fernando, participating at a press briefing held at the President’s Media Centre today (31) under the theme ‘Collective Path to a Stable Country’ said that he expected 2.2 million tourists to visit Sri Lanka  in 2024 and bring in a revenue of US$ 4billion. He revealed […]

The controversial Online Safety Bill has sparked a geopolitical debate with the Russian Ambassador in Colombo Levan Dzhagaryan stating that regulations of the online sphere are solely a domestic issue of Sri Lanka, and that any interference in this internal issue by foreign powers is absolutely irrelevant and unacceptable.

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

… USD 5 mn paid to Iran a month By Shamindra Ferdinando Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera has confirmed that consumers of petrol and diesel have been made to pay Rs. 50 to Rs. 55 per litre since the middle of last year to settle what the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) owed its creditors. […]

saw 210,352 tourist arrivals up from 151,496 recorded in November 2023. India, Russia, United Kingdom, ...

Sri Lanka received over 1.4 million tourists by the end of the third week of December, the latest statistics released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) show. The SLTDA weekly report on tourist arrivals released on Saturday (23) shows that 1,404,998 tourists had arrived in the country by December 21, 2023. Between December 01 and 21 […]

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 […]