By: Staff Writer
Colombo (LNW): The cash-strapped nation is planning to reduce the military strength to 100,000 by 2030-end from its current strength of 200,783. The strength would be limited to 135,000 by next year, the Defence Ministry said.
The overall aim of the strategic blueprint is to broach a technically and tactically sound and well-balanced defence force by the year 2030 in order to meet upcoming security challenges,” the statement quoting the state minister of defence Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon said.
The strength of the military and sustainable economic development are two sides of a coin, which stay together, but never talk to each other in open. Military spending is basically the state borne expenditure, which indirectly stimulates and opens avenues for economic growth by way of assuring national and human security.
State Minister of Defence Hon. Premitha Bandara Thennakoon raising his concerns into the status quo mentioned that despite the approved cadre of the Army, which is now 200,783, it will be reduced to 135,000 by 2024 and it has been projected to right size the strength to 100,000 by 2030.
The overall aim of the strategic blueprint is to broach a technically and tactically sound and well-balanced defence force by the year 2030 in order to meet upcoming security challenges on a par with the National Security dimensions of the country.
Sri Lanka, which is facing its worst economic crisis since 1948, ran out of forex reserve and was unable to manage its key imports, including fuel, fertilizers and medicines, leading to serpentine queues. For health and education, the 2023 budget has allocated over 300 billion rupees each.
After the end of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) conflict in 2009, the strength had been halved from around 400,000. But the current strength of the Sri Lankan military of 200,000 is also termed as expensive.
Sri Lanka will drastically slash its military, the Ministry of Defence has announced, as the country tries to cut costs of state owned institutions including ministries in the face of its worst economic crisis in decades.
The bankrupt nation will cuttsil the number of army personnel by a third to 135,000 by next year and 100,000 by 2030, the state minister of defence said recently as the government works to overhaul its finances.
“Military spending is basically state-borne expenditure which indirectly stimulates and opens avenues for economic growth by way of assuring national and human security,” Premitha Bandara Thennakoon said in a statement.
The aim of the move is to create a “technically and tactically sound and well-balanced” defence force by 2030, Thennakoon said.
The island nation of 22 million people is reeling from months of food and fuel shortages and spiraling inflation. The government cut back on expenditures after the country slid into a deep economic crisis last year when its foreign exchange reserves dried up.
