Category: News

The Cabinet and State ministers will be sworn in next week, an informed source said. According to the informed source, 30 Cabinet ministers will be appointed. Most ministers who currently hold two or more portfolios each will lose one of them for the accommodation of new comers to the Cabinet.

There will be MPs from the Opposition joining the government in their individual capacities regardless of the positions of their parties. The source said around 40 state ministers will be appointed. Once the new Cabinet is appointed, the new government is expected to change the heads of various government institutions.

The ruling party, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has requested President Ranil Wickramasinghe to facilitate former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s safe return to the island.

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) met the President at the President’s Office yesterday afternoon (18) and held discussions in this regard.

Expressing his views here, SLPP national organizer and former minister Basil Rajapaksa has said that Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna will fully support the President in resolving the current economic crisis and rebuilding the country.

In addition, he said that former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa should be allowed to return to Sri Lanka safely. Mr. Basil Rajapaksa has mentioned that it is the paramount request of the SLPP to the government including the President.

Prasanna Ranatunga, Sagara Kariyawasam, Rohitha Abeygunawardena, Johnston Fernando, Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Namal Rajapaksa and Sanjeewa Edirimanna participated in this discussion on behalf of Podujana Peramuna.

President’s Chief of Staff Sagala Ratnayake, UNP Chairman Wajira Abeywardena, Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardena, and Shamal Seneviratne participated in the meeting from the President’s side.

Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar said India has done the best of its abilities to assist Sri Lanka.

This year alone India has extended USD 3.8 billion of support to Sri Lanka, including line of credits and swap arrangements, he said.

“I think if India and China have to come together, there are many reasons to do so, not necessarily only Sri Lanka,” he said, adding that it is in India and China’s own interest to join hands.

Sri Lanka, a nation of 22 million, is in the midst of an unprecedented economic crisis that has led to severe shortages of fuel and other essentials. The Sri Lankan government is negotiating with the IMF for a bailout package.

“Any help we can give to Sri Lanka at the IMF that we will naturally do,” Jaishankar said.

Four suspects linked to the banned Sri Lankan outfit, the National Thowheed Jamath, have been charged in India.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a chargesheet against four men, including ‘Needur’ Sathik Batcha alias ICAMA Sathik, who were arrested for threatening police personnel at gunpoint in Tamil Nadu’s Mayiladuthurai earlier this year.

Investigations revealed that Sathik Batcha, a martial arts trainer, and other accused — R Ashiq alias Mohammed Ashiq Elahi of Coimbatore, A Mohamed Irfan of Karaikal, Rahamathulla alias Rahamath of Chennai — held conspiracy meetings in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala and Chennai to recruit members to the Khilafah Party of India and other outfits floated by them on the lines of proscribed organizations like ISIS, al-Qaeda and the National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) of Sri Lanka, the NIA said.

Sathik Batcha owed his allegiance to an IS module and later became a member to establish the Islamic State overthrowing the democracy, according to the NIA.

The Mayiladuthurai police arrested five men in January after which the NIA took over the case for further investigation. They were lodged in the Trichy Central Prison.

After inquiring about them, the NIA conducted searches in places linked to the accused in Chennai, Puducherry in June and seized electronic devices with incriminating documents apart from pamphlets with messages of Islamic State (IS).

However, the chargesheet was filed against only four, as there was not sufficient material evidence against the fifth accused Jabahar Ali.

U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung has met with Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa on Friday (19) for a wide-ranging discussion in Colombo.

In a tweet, Ambassador Chung said they discussed the current economic crisis and political situation, as well as to exchange ideas on how all sectors of Sri Lanka can work together to address both the urgent and longer-term needs of the Sri Lankan people.

Asian Century would not happen if the two neighbours could not join hands, he says
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Thursday that the relationship between India and China was going through an “extremely difficult phase” after what Beijing had done at the border and emphasised that the Asian Century would not happen if the two neighbours could not join hands.

He made the remarks while responding to a series of questions after delivering a lecture on ‘India’s Vision of the Indo-Pacific’ at the prestigious Chulalongkorn University here.

Responding to a question, Mr. Jaishankar said that the Asian Century would happen when China and India come together but it would be difficult to happen if India and China could not come together.

Also read: India envisages free, open, inclusive and peaceful Indo-Pacific built on rules-based order: EAM Jaishankar

“At the moment [the India-China] relationship is going through an extremely difficult phase after what China did at the border,” he said.

Chinese and Indian troops are engaged in a prolonged standoff in eastern Ladakh. The two sides have so far held 16 rounds of Corps Commander Level talks to resolve the standoff which erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong Lake areas.

“I think if India and China have to come together, there are many reasons to do so, not necessarily only Sri Lanka,” he said, adding that it was in the own interest of India and China to join hands.

“We very much hope that wisdom dawns on the Chinese side,” the External Affairs Minister said while replying to another question from the audience.

Mr. Jaishankar said India had done the best of its abilities to assist Sri Lanka. This year alone India had extended $3.8 billion of support to Sri Lanka, including line of credits and swap arrangements, he said.

“Any help we can give to Sri Lanka at the IMF [International Monetary Fund] that we will naturally do,” Mr. Jaishankar said.

On the issue of Rohingya refugees, he said the issue had been discussed with Bangladesh. “What matters for them is repatriation. We have been supportive of Bangladesh,” he said.

Currently, Bangladesh is hosting more than 1 million Rohingya refugees, who fled Myanmar following a military operation against them a few years ago.

Responding to another question, the External Affairs Minister dismissed criticism for importing discounted Russian oil, saying India was not the only oil importing country.

The U.S. and European nations have imposed heavy sanctions on Russia since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on February 24.

India has raised oil imports from Russia after the Ukraine war despite criticism from the West and continues to engage with Moscow for business.

Mr. Jaishankar, who arrived here on Tuesday, co-chaired the 9th India-Thailand Joint Commission Meeting with his Thai counterpart and Deputy Prime Minister Don Pramudwinai on Wednesday during which they discussed advancing bilateral contacts in political, economic, security and defence, connectivity and health domains.

Sri Lanka is expecting to wrap up a staff level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) when a team visits the country at the end of August, Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said.

“The IMF mission is coming to Sri Lanka by the end of the month with the intention of reaching staff level agreement on the policy package.

“We are making good progress with the IMF mission and we’re hoping to reach staff level agreement,” Weerasinghe said at a monthly policy review meeting held on Thursday August 18.

“We have achieved our policy level targets so we hope to reach staff level agreement. This will certainly improve our situation,” he said.

At the moment, the Central Bank is in the process analysing its creditors before it reaches out to them.

“Once the staff level agreements with the IMF are concluded, the country hopes to reach out to its external creditors. Once the IMF agreements are in place, we will reach out to all our bilateral and commercial creditors,” he said.

Weerasinghe said a staff level agreement with the IMF will give the country a “clear picture on debt sustainability and debt targets for the country to achieve in the next 10 years and an overall macro-fiscal programme.”

He said using these programmes endorsed by the IMF they will be able to reach out to the external creditors including first party commercial creditors and International Sovereign Bond (ISB) holders, the Paris club including Japan (which is a major partner of the Paris club) and non-Paris club creditors like China and India.

“All [creditors] will be officially approached and we will present our overall macro programme that has been endorsed by the IMF and also the debt targets we have to achieve going forward.

“So, with that information we will approach different groups and the process will commence from there with the assistance of France-based Lazard and Clifford Chance legal advisors as well as the other agents.”

Weerasinghe said the government is confident that debt can be made sustainable without restructuring domestic debt.

Source: Economy Next