Foreign Affairs Minister Peiris meets with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Representative and the Country Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) to Sri Lanka

Minister of Foreign Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris met with Vimlendra Sharan, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Representative and Abdur Rahim Siddiqui, the Country Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) to Sri Lanka on 25 May 2022, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to discuss further collaboration between the FAO, WFP and Sri Lanka to address the current challenges faced by Sri Lanka in relation to food security.

Minister Peiris conveyed the sincere appreciation of the Government of Sri Lanka for the valuable support of the FAO and the WFP, in particular the Country Office in Sri Lanka, for the assistance provided towards the development of agriculture, fisheries and livestock, in the country. While outlining the multiple challenges currently faced by the country, the Foreign Minister thanked the FAO and WFP Representatives for the crucial role played by them in providing guidance and support to the Government at this difficult juncture.

Both Representatives assured the Minister that the FAO and the WFP would extend full support for Sri Lanka to overcome the current challenges related to food security and briefed the Minister on their current activities to mitigate any potential food security challenges.

Minister Peiris stated that Sri Lanka and the United Nations enjoy close, longstanding and cordial relations with the UN and that the UN has supported Sri Lanka in times of difficulty. In this context, the Minister referred to the request made by the Prime Minister to the UN Secretary-General and the Director General of FAO for technical support and assistance to augment food production in the country, enabling Sri Lanka to tide over this critical situation.  

Ministry of Foreign Affair

Colombo

26 May, 2022

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is set to deliver a special statement in Parliament revealing the actual economic situation in the country. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Wickremesinghe will be delivering this statement on June 07.

The Prime Minister is expected to explain the economic situation of Sri Lanka as well as the measures to be taken by the government to address the crisis befallen the people.

The sole UNP Parliamentarian become the Island Nation’s Premier overnight Wickremesinghe is also expected to table an Interim Budget for this year instead of the Budget tabled by former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa. Matters related to this Budget will also be briefed in Parliament, sources learn.

Wickremesinghe’s Interim Budget is believed to have allocated funds to increase the salaries of public servants, probably paving the way for the Private Sector to expect the same, according to sources.

MIAP

There will be no distribution of domestic lp gas cylinders tomorrow (27) said the LITRO Gas company.

Accordingly, the state-run lp gas company urged the public not to queue up for gas tomorrow.

Same as yesterday and the day before, no gas was distributed today.

MIAP

The 21st Amendment to the Constitution tabled as a private MP motion by Justice Minister Wijedasa Rajapaksa has been withdrawn as revealed in the Supreme Court today (26).

As the petitions filed against the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution were taken up for hearing, the Attorney General’s Department informed the Supreme Court that Rajapaksa’s had informed the Speaker that the relevant motion was to be withdrawn.

The petitions against the 22A were filed by Convener of the National Organisers Collective Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekara and Attorney at Law Nuwan Bellanthudawa of the Deshapremi Jathika Peramuna.

The private motion added to the Parliament Order Book by Rajapaksa had suggested to slash powers vested in the Executive Presidency.

The other 21st Amendment to the Constitution proposed by the Ranil Wickremesinghe-led government was also presented to the Cabinet by Rajapaksa as the Justice Minister.

MIAP

The Colombo Magistrate Court today (26) issued an order barring the holding of any protests causing public nuisance by blocking the Fifth Lane and surrounding roads and schools in the Kurunduwatte Police Division where Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s residence is located.

The order was issued based on a request by the Kurunduwatte Police.

MIAP

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has pointed out the need to make policy decisions based on an export oriented economy. Only these policies can assist the export industry overcome the current economic crisis facing the country.

The Prime Minister made this statement when he met the heads of banks this morning (26).

The Prime Minister pointed out that there are many challenges to be faced in the future, both locally and abroad.

About seventy countries are facing difficulties in the current global crisis. Mr. Wickremesinghe said that Sri Lanka is ranked first amongst those countries. There is a high risk of rising international interest rates. The danger of rising international food prices is also being observed at this moment. However, the Prime Minister explained that Sri Lanka has a small window in which if the correct policies are taken we can reduce the impact.

The Central Bank said it would be difficult to find a definitive solution to these problems until an agreement was reached with the International Monetary Fund.
The focus was on providing loan deferral relief based on the needs of essential customers.

The Governor of the Central Bank and a number of local and foreign bankers joined the discussion with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has offered a digital space for the youth to join the protesters at GotaGoGama agitation ground in GalleFace and discuss their problems and collect ideas and suggesttions for the future.

Accordingly, the Prime Minister has opened up a space in his website, pmoffice.gov.lk for the youth to connect.

Anyone including those in the GotaGoGama agitation ground wanting a change can submit their views and proposals to the government through the Prime Minister’s Official Website.

Wickremesinghe has been positive about the people’s protest from the beginning and is of the view that it should continue. He had also appointed a committee chaired by former MP Ruwan Wijewardena to extend support required by GotaGoGama.

MIAP

Washington, DC – May 25, 2022: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Mr. Peter Breuer and Mr. Masahiro Nozaki conducted a virtual mission with the Sri Lankan authorities during May 9-24 on an economic program that could be supported by an IMF lending arrangement. The IMF team met with Honorable Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at the concluding meeting, following technical discussions with the economic team led by Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the Secretary of the Treasury Mahinda Siriwardana. The team also met with representatives of the private sector, the financial sector, and development partners.

At the conclusion of the mission, the IMF team issued the following statement:

“Sri Lanka is facing difficult economic conditions and severe balance of payments problems. Recent economic indicators suggest that economic activities have been negatively affected by fuel and power shortages. Rising global food and oil prices have further added to the balance of payments pressures. Inflation has accelerated driven by many factors, including the shortages of goods, fuel price increases, and currency depreciation. In this context, we are deeply concerned about the impact of the ongoing crisis on the people, particularly the poor and vulnerable groups.

“The IMF team held technical discussions on a comprehensive reform package to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability. The team made good progress in assessing the economic situation and in identifying policy priorities to be taken going forward. The discussions focused on restoring fiscal sustainability while protecting the vulnerable and poor; ensuring credibility of the monetary policy and exchange rate regimes; preserving financial sector stability; and structural reforms to enhance growth and strengthen governance. We expect that these discussions will help the authorities formulate their reform program.

“The team welcomed the appointment of financial and legal advisors to engage in a collaborative dialogue with their creditors as an important step towards restoring public debt sustainability. Since Sri Lanka’s public debt is assessed as unsustainable, approval by the Executive Board of an IMF-supported program for Sri Lanka would require adequate assurances that debt sustainability will be restored.  

“IMF staff will continue to monitor the economic and political situation very closely and engage with the authorities to formulate concrete measures under an IMF-supported program, as well as broader stakeholders to support a timely resolution of the crisis. We reaffirm our commitment to support Sri Lanka at this difficult time, in line with the IMF’s policies. “Staff express their gratitude to the authorities for their constructive engagement and support during the mission.”