-
2 months ago | 
thehindu.com | Ganeshan Wignaraja
Sri Lanka’s new National Peoples Power (NPP) government, led by the charismatic President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, entered office in late 2024 at a turning point in the country’s economic history. Following default on its external debt obligations in April 2022, Sri Lanka had experienced its worst post-independence economic crisis in 2022-2023. While the economy is stabilising now, the challenges are far from over.
-
Oct 24, 2024 | 
gatewayhouse.in | Ganeshan Wignaraja
Sri Lanka is among developing Indo-Pacific countries contending with crippling debt that can quash decades of poverty reduction efforts, strain social stability and aggravate security threats. Colombo’s debt threatens its economic prosperity and poses challenges for regional security, but domestic adjustments and external partnerships are having positive effects.
-
Oct 3, 2024 | 
gatewayhouse.in | Ganeshan Wignaraja
Anura Kumar Dissanayake, who became the new President of Sri Lanka on 23rd September 2024, is off to an encouraging start. True to his election promises, this week, he will initiate talks with the International Monetary Fund’s team visiting Colombo, to discuss the disbursement of funds and further debt relief. This is what his voters have sought from him: the easing of Sri Lanka’s economic fragility, which the country has long awaited.
-
Oct 1, 2024 | 
eastasiaforum.org | Ganeshan Wignaraja
On 23 September 2024, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, a left-leaning candidate, was sworn in as the President of Sri Lanka. This was the first election held since mass protests overthrew the country’s former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July 2022, after Sri Lanka defaulted on its sovereign debt and suffered a crippling economic crisis.
-
Oct 1, 2024 | 
indianexpress.com | Ganeshan Wignaraja
It is a remarkable victory for a political outsider. Dissanayake, a former agriculture minister and long-standing Member of Parliament, is the leader of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which conducted two armed, unsuccessful uprisings against the Sri Lankan state in 1971 and 1988-89.
-
Aug 21, 2024 | 
odi.org | Ganeshan Wignaraja |Sirimal Abeyratne |Derrick Abudu |Ashanthi Abayasekara
In 2022, Sri Lanka faced its worst economic crisis since independence, culminating in a sovereign debt default. This essay series, edited by Ganeshan Wignaraja and Dirk Willem te Velde of ODI, explores Sri Lanka's remarkable economic stabilisation in mid-2024 and the way forward. Featuring insights from 24 prominent Sri Lankan and international experts, the collection of 14 essays offers 27 concrete policy proposals to propel the nation towards a future of transformative growth.
-
Jul 9, 2024 | 
gatewayhouse.in | Ganeshan Wignaraja
9 July 2024, DD India
China-centric global supply chains, the backbone of East Asia’s prosperity, are shifting out as tensions over tariffs and strategic contest between the West and China soars. Ganeshan Wignaraja, Professorial Fellow, Economics and Trade, Gateway House, discusses diversifying supply chains, the China plus one strategy, and the role of India as a supply chain magnet for its South Asian neighbours.
-
May 9, 2024 | 
gatewayhouse.in | Ganeshan Wignaraja
Following an acute balance of payments crisis, Sri Lanka opted to default on its foreign debt in April 2022. This triggered the worst economic crisis in over 70 years of post-independence Sri Lankan history in a once enviable basic needs success case. Understanding what happened in Sri Lanka could help prevent or lessen the impact of future economic crises in South Asia and the rest of the developing world.
-
Feb 1, 2024 | 
gatewayhouse.in | Ganeshan Wignaraja
On January 9, 2024, the United National Party (UNP) proposed incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe as the national presidential candidate for the elections. This move may garner support from some political parties. In July 2022, six-time Prime Minister Wickremasinghe was chosen for his economic credentials by a parliamentary majority to replace Gotabaya Rajapaksa who resigned following mass protests over economic mismanagement and rent-seeking.
-
Jan 30, 2024 | 
thehindu.com | Ganeshan Wignaraja
On January 9, 2024, the United National Party (UNP) proposed incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe as the national presidential candidate for the elections. This move may garner support from some political parties. In July 2022, six-time Prime Minister Wickremasinghe was chosen for his economic credentials by a parliamentary majority to replace Gotabaya Rajapaksa who resigned following mass protests over economic mismanagement and rent-seeking.
