President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday said Sri Lanka’s progress was hindered by the decades-long ethnic conflict involving the Tamil minority and underlined that the debt-trapped country should not miss its “last chance” to make a “decisive choice” and achieve prosperity. Sri Lanka has been hit hard by a catastrophic economic and humanitarian crisis, sparked by years of mismanagement and the raging pandemic.
In a keynote address “Economic Dialogue - IMF and Beyond,” Wickremesinghe said it is essential to look beyond the IMF programme and focus on creating a prosperous society for the next generation. “Our task is not merely to stabilise the economy but to ensure growth, to grow in this new global economy, and to go ahead. These are facts that we can’t get away from,” Wickremesinghe said.
The Sri Lankan President said the country’s progress was hindered by ethnic issues, and added that if the country is to prosper, this issue must be resolved.
“Sri Lanka has missed an opportunity to regain its footing due to the ethnic crisis. This is the last chance for Sri Lanka to make a decisive choice and move forward, or risk falling back again,” he asserted.
