COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka is now focused on building an economy strong enough to withstand global shocks and external crises, ensuring that the country never again experiences the kind of economic collapse that brought unprecedented hardship to its people, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said on Friday (23).
Addressing the centenary annual general meeting of the Government Surveyors’ Association in Battaramulla, the President delivered a detailed assessment of the country’s economic journey, explaining both the factors that triggered the crisis and the measures being taken to create a more resilient future.
According to the President, two key issues lay at the heart of Sri Lanka’s economic collapse. The first was the government’s inability to generate sufficient revenue to meet its financial obligations, forcing authorities to repeatedly print money or borrow from the banking system to bridge funding gaps.
He noted that the situation reached alarming levels in 2022, when the Treasury account was operating with an overdraft of nearly Rs. 700 billion, highlighting the severe financial strain facing the state at the time.
The second major factor behind the crisis, he said, was the country’s inability to earn the foreign exchange required to sustain its economy.news first
