Sri Lanka to Regain 2019 Economic Stability by Next Year – President Dissanayake

President Dissanayake Confident Sri Lanka Will Restore 2019-Level Economic Stability by Next Year

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has expressed confidence that Sri Lanka’s economy will return to the level it enjoyed in 2019, prior to the financial crisis, by next year.

The President made these remarks while addressing members of the Sri Lankan community in the United States during his visit to New York for the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

Highlighting the nation’s progress, President Dissanayake recalled that Sri Lanka officially declared bankruptcy in April 2022, when it was unable to service its foreign debt obligations. However, he emphasized that the country has since made rapid strides in overcoming the crisis.

He further underlined the crucial role played by Sri Lankans living overseas, noting both their financial contributions and moral support during the 2024 presidential and 2025 general elections. According to him, this support was instrumental in securing his party’s historic electoral success.

“In the 2019 elections, our party obtained only about 3% of the national vote. Yet, in the 2024 presidential and subsequent general election, we were able to secure the largest number of parliamentary seats in Sri Lanka’s history,” he stated.

Reflecting on the country’s economic collapse, the President observed that the government in power at the time not only declared bankruptcy but also, for the first time in the nation’s history, turned against its own people.

“Our immediate task was twofold: to resolve the pressing economic crisis and to ensure that safeguards were put in place to prevent such a collapse from happening again,” he explained.

The President stressed that significant progress has been made within a relatively short period, with international organizations, credit rating agencies, and financial institutions recognizing Sri Lanka’s accelerated recovery compared with other nations that have faced similar crises.

He pointed out that, typically, economic experts estimate a recovery period of nearly a decade following such a collapse.

“If Sri Lanka’s bankruptcy occurred in 2022, then a full recovery would normally be expected by 2032. However, we are confident that by next year, Sri Lanka will have restored the level of stability it had achieved in 2019,” President Dissanayake affirmed.