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Today in Parliament, during the Committee Stage debate on the Foreign Ministry’s expenditure head, I felt compelled to challenge the traditional view of how Sri Lanka engages with the world. I listened to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, hoping for an articulation of a modern policy stance that justifies our budget allocations, but instead, we heard the usual rhetoric.

Foreign Policy is Economic Strategy

We can no longer afford to operate in silos. I stated clearly on the floor that we need to stop separating foreign policy from our economic survival.

As I argued in my speech, the truth is unavoidable: “We need to think of foreign policy in terms of economic strategy. Forget all the rhetoric... we have to be dynamic, understand how the world is moving, and use our foreign policy as an economic strategy. If you look at the growth we require, it is all going to be external: exports, investments, remittances, and tourism.”

Even our debt restructuring was fundamentally a foreign policy success before it was a financial one; it was because we built strong relationships with countries like India and China that we were able to navigate the crisis.

The Digital Failure: The “Oops” Moment

However, our implementation is lagging woefully behind this necessary vision. We talk about a "Digital Sri Lanka" and attracting the diaspora, yet our digital infrastructure for investors is non- existent.

I highlighted a specific example regarding the Office of Overseas Sri Lankans. When I attempted to access the digital portal for this office, posing as a Sri Lankan living abroad looking to invest, I hit a dead end.

“Assume I am an overseas Sri Lankan and I want to invest... I go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs [website] and it says 'Oops.' ‘Oops’ is not a foreign policy,” I told the government. “If your official website says economic diplomacy is key... and it doesn't exist, I am asking the Honorable Minister if the Office of Overseas Sri Lankans actually exists.”

We cannot expect serious investment when our front door to the world is digitally broken and directs potential investors to an error page.

Addressing Governance and Accountability: The Geneva Pledge

I pointed out that while the government may claim to be taking a "reasonable middle path" in its international commitments, its actions at home severely undermine that position.

The core issue is the failure to credibly implement the four-pillar structure promised to the world: Truth, Justice, Accountability, Reparations, and Non-Recurrence. This failure is evident in the makeup of the proposed agencies.

● I highlighted the recent criticism leveled at the government for appointing three out of five members from the security sector to the proposed Reparations Committee.

● This imbalance undermines confidence and cannot work. The Government ought to ensure that these promised agencies are established and implemented with genuine credibility to finally resolve these long-standing national problems.

Recognizing Our Two Types of Sri Lankans Overseas

The Ministry must understand the complex issues facing our citizens abroad and engage with them as two distinct, yet equally vital, groups:

● Economic Backbone: These are the workers in West Asia and Southeast Asia who send home the highest amount of dollars and are fundamentally responsible for building our foreign reserves. Their welfare and support must be prioritized.

● The Disconnected Diaspora: These are the Sri Lankans living in Western nations who often feel left behind and disconnected. They are calling for engagement and dialogue with the Ministry to understand the issues they face. The Ministry must open genuine channels of communication with them.

We Must Punch Above Our Weight Class: Seizing the Transactional Opportunity

We must stop viewing Sri Lanka as a small, passive island. We are at the center of the Indian Ocean, critical to global trade routes and data cables. We have leverage, and we must use it.

“We have an amazing opportunity because of our positioning in the global context. We must punch above our weight class... We have to be able to make sure that our foreign policy is such that we balance the East and the West,” I stated.IORA

This strategic positioning demands a pragmatic foreign policy built on transactionalism. Our focus must be on results, not rhetoric concerning allegiances, blocs, or West vs. East divisions.

I highlighted how we have already squandered a critical chance by failing to use our IORA Chair to initiate a robust collaborative framework built around trade and economic security. The new opportunity, however, lies in the recent cooperation between China and India. This creates an ideal geostrategic opportunity for us to profit.

We must shift our foreign policy mindset from allegiance to advantage. We need a return on investment for every dollar we spend on our missions abroad. Nothing less is acceptable.

By Dr. Harsha de Silva, MP

The Billiards and Snooker Association of Sri Lanka (BSASL) has successfully completed the district stages of the 6-Red Snooker National Championship 2025, held in memory of the late Amjad Hashim.

The tournament, which has attracted widespread participation across the island, has been strongly supported by the Malship Group of Companies, the championship’s principal sponsor.

BSASL expressed its gratitude to the Malship Group for its ongoing commitment to the development of cue sports in Sri Lanka, noting that their backing was instrumental in the smooth execution of the tournament.

The Association also acknowledged the contributions of local clubs and venues that hosted the district competitions, ensuring professional organisation and facilities for participants.

A total of 239 players competed in the district tournaments, held in Nuwara Eliya, Kandy, Kegalle, Ratnapura, Galle, and Colombo.

The Colombo District saw the highest participation with 134 entries, highlighting the growing popularity of snooker nationwide.

District champions crowned during the preliminary rounds include:

Nuwara Eliya: Champion O.T. Samith, Runner-up Nadeera Hewawasam (Thawalama Snooker and Pool Parlour, Hatton)

Kandy: Champion M. Fauzan, Runner-up M.S. Hamjhad (Pyramid Snooker Parlour, Kandy)

Kegalle: Champion Musthaque Mohamed, Runner-up Musamil Deen (Blue Waters Snooker Parlour, Mawanella)

Ratnapura: Champion Sajith Balaharuwa, Runner-up Jithma Nugawela (Cue Masters Snooker Club, Ratnapura)

Galle: Champion M. Farhan, Runner-up Maithri Lalith (YMBA, Galle)

Colombo: Champion Mohammed Fahim, Runner-up Prathap Murugesh (Moors Sports Club, Colombo)

The district champions and runners-up will now progress to the All-Island segment, where 32 top players, proportionally allocated by district participation, will compete in a round-robin format to determine the 2025 national champion.

Sri Lanka’s political landscape has been jolted by fierce public backlash following the government’s decision to sign a Defence Memorandum of Understanding with the United States under the State Partnership Program (SPP).

The MoU, endorsed at a high-profile ceremony in Colombo recently attended by the U.S. Ambassador inSri Lanka Julie Chung, establishes formal defence cooperation between Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defence, the Montana National Guard, and the U.S. Coast Guard District 13.

At the ceremony, the U.S. Ambassador framed the agreement as a continuation of a partnership built over several years.

She highlighted joint training exercises since 2021, from humanitarian missions such as ATLAS ANGEL 2024 and PACIFIC ANGEL 2025 to Coast Guard training on oil-spill response in Seattle.

According to her, the SPP “is not merely about defence it is about connection, shared learning, and building long-term bonds between the American Midwest and Sri Lanka.”

Yet these warm diplomatic sentiments have ignited a political firestorm at home. Opposition MPs, civil society groups, Buddhist clergy, and national security analysts sharply condemn the government’s refusal to reveal the full contents of the agreement.

The criticism is particularly pointed because the ruling NPP led by the once staunchly anti-American JVP built its political identity opposing U.S. military influence. Now, after assuming power, several of its frontline leaders appear to have reversed their ideological stance, fueling allegations of political hypocrisy and backdoor diplomacy.

The secrecy surrounding the MoU has become the central flashpoint. Critics warn that the SPP, active in over 100 countries, has historically included military interoperability components that could pave the way for deeper U.S. strategic involvement.

Though the Ambassador emphasized that the 30-year-old program fosters global cooperation and professional exchange, Sri Lankan lawmakers argue that without public disclosure, there is no guarantee that the agreement does not create obligations that undermine national sovereignty.

Analysts also note the timing: Sri Lanka, still grappling with economic instability, a fragile geopolitical balance, and dependence on foreign creditors, is increasingly vulnerable to external pressure.

Any opaque defence alignment especially with a major global power could strain relations with China and India, both of whom view the Indian Ocean as a strategic priority. Diplomatic missteps could jeopardize trade negotiations, security cooperation, and regional positioning at a moment when Colombo can ill afford miscalculations.

The controversy also risks eroding public trust. Sri Lankans vividly remember debates around past U.S. agreements such as SOFA and MCC, both of which ignited public protests and were ultimately shelved due to fears of allowing foreign military access. The NPP government’s silence now raises fears of repeating history.

Unless the full text of the MoU is released, speculation will fill the vacuum ranging from concerns about data-sharing to fears of establishing logistical support for U.S. military operations in the region. Transparency, analysts say, is the only path to restore credibility and prevent the widening political rift.

Sri Lanka’s strategic future depends not merely on partnerships, but on public confidence in how those partnerships are forged. Without openness, even beneficial cooperation risks turning into national discord.

India’s goods exports to the US rose for the first time in five months in October, jumping 14.5% from September, even as Donald Trump’s steep tariffs remain in place.

Exports to India’s largest foreign market had dropped sharply last month after 50% US tariffs on India - including a 25% penalty for buying Russian oil - kicked in on 27 August.

The improved data came as Indian state-run oil firms agreed to import more annual liquified petroleum gas (LPG) from the US and Trump exempted many farm goods from reciprocal tariffs that could benefit India.

Trade deal negotiations between the two countries are under way, with an Indian official saying that key aspects of the deal were nearing closure.

The jump in exports to the US came even as India’s overall goods exports fell 11.8% year-on-year in October, with 15 of its top 20 markets seeing a decline in bilateral trade.

“Tariff-exempt sectors such as smartphones and pharmaceuticals may have performed better - though this remains a tentative assumption,” said Ajay Srivastava of Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), a Delhi-based think tank, commenting on the latest trade numbers.

“Despite the October rebound, India’s shipments to the US have dropped nearly 28.4% between May and October, erasing more than $2.5bn in monthly export value,” Mr Srivastava added.

But trade tensions between the two countries appear to be gradually letting up after months of uncertainty.

On Monday, India said it had concluded a first-ever major deal that will see its state-run oil companies sourcing some 10% of the country’s annual LPG needs from the US.

Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri described the decision as a “historic development” and said the world’s largest and fastest growing LPG market has now opened up to the United States.

The Trump administration has been urging Delhi to ramp up its purchase of US petroleum products and reduce its dependency on Russian oil.

India became one of the biggest markets for Russian oil as Western nations imposed sanctions on Moscow after the Ukraine war started in 2022.

Last year, India bought $52.7bn of Russian crude - 37% of its oil bill - but Trump has reiterated time and again, that the country has agreed to reduce its purchases, something India has not officially confirmed.

Delhi is walking a diplomatic tightrope on energy imports as Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares to visit Delhi early next month to finalise several agreements and projects, local reports say.

Yet trade talks between India and the US - stalled for months over Delhi’s refusal to cut Russian oil imports - now appear to be moving quickly despite this.

On Monday, a senior government official told The Hindu newspaper that the first phase of the trade deal is “more or less near closure”.

India is also set to benefit from the US’s decision to roll back reciprocal tariffs on certain agricultural products such as tea, coffee and spices - a move that, analysts say, would effectively exempt about $1bn worth of India’s agricultural exports to the US from duties.

( Source : adaderana.lk)

Sri Lanka is yet to reach any final agreement to be inked with the US on reciprocal tariffs, and discussions are still underway regarding the matter, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said. He said that SL and the US have had 17 rounds of discussions so far.

The Minister said SL was able to get the tariffs reduced from 44% to 20% through discussions and added that the US Prez Donald Trump, in an order issued on Nov 13, brought some food items exported by SL to zero tariff.

In 2024, Sri Lanka exported around US$ 3 billion mainly garments and rubber goods to the US, while imports from America amounted to just US$ 370 million. Bridging this imbalance has become central to US demands.

Officials close to the talks say the US team is pressing for market access in machinery, agriculture, and consumer goods, sectors where Sri Lanka’s local producers already struggle.

Economists warn that meeting such commitments without a broader strategy could weaken domestic industries and aggravate the very vulnerabilities that plunged the country into crisis in 2022.

University of Colombo economist and Central Bank Monetary Policy Board member Prof. Priyanga Dunusinghe cautioned that Sri Lanka’s approach has been narrowly limited to tariff negotiations.

“Export diversification has not progressed, the business environment remains weak, and productivity has not improved, leaving Sri Lanka exposed to external shocks like the recent US tariff hike,” he said at the CEO Forum 2025.

A recent Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) study has already projected losses of US$ 634 million in export earnings under the new tariff regime, highlighting the heavy toll on apparel the single largest contributor to exports. Yet despite these risks, Colombo has yet to move beyond ad hoc bargaining.

The global context makes the challenge sharper. Washington’s new protectionism targets goods trade deficits while excluding services, where Sri Lanka depends heavily on US technology flows.

This tactic reflects wider apprehensions about Asia’s rise, with China, India, and Indonesia are to be among the uppermost global economies by 2030. The situation is gradually hostile for small countries without geopolitical leverage,

Prof. Dunusinghe gave the example of Singapore as a good counter-factual. Within weeks of the US tariff action, it had rolled out a five-pillar strategy building competitiveness, driving innovation, re-skilling the workforce, supporting transitioning industries, and developing linkages with open-trade nations.

“Sri Lanka has not moved beyond talks on tariff concessions. Heavy dependence on apparel exports continues, and no systematic reforms have been implemented to expand products or markets,” he warned.

Sri Lankan Airlines has earned top regional honours for its culinary offering, securing the Best in Food and Beverage Award for Central/South Asia at the 2026 APEX Awards.

The national carrier was recognised for its rich and diverse inflight menu, which blends authentic Sri Lankan flavours with international cuisine. In addition to the win, Sri Lankan Airlines retained its status as a Four Star Major Airline, one of the highest distinctions in the global aviation sector.

The APEX Awards and Official Airline Ratings are drawn from more than one million passenger reviews submitted via the TripIt by Concur travel app. Over 600 airlines are assessed annually across five key areas: cabin comfort, service quality, food and beverage, inflight entertainment, and Wi-Fi performance.

Reflecting on the achievement, Maria Sathasivam, Product Development Manager at SriLankan Airlines, said:

“Receiving this award for the second time reflects the deep trust our passengers place in us. Alongside delivering healthy and delicious meals onboard, we pride ourselves on showcasing Sri Lanka’s vibrant culinary heritage. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all travellers who helped make this possible.”

SriLankan Airlines offers travellers a regularly refreshed inflight menu designed around passenger preferences. Depending on the destination, guests can experience a variety of cuisines, with special emphasis on Sri Lankan favourites such as sambols, kiribath, athirpasa, kottu, and traditional sweets like kiri toffee, coconut toffee, sesame balls, and bibikan. A selection of local beers complements the culinary experience.

The airline currently connects passengers to 120 destinations across 61 countries, operating a modern fleet of Airbus A330-300 and A320/321neo aircraft that serve major cities throughout Europe, Australia, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Far East.

A fire broke out in the storage facility of a factory in Ranala, Kaduwela early this morning (19), police said.

According to the Nawagamuwa Police, the factory—which manufactures cardboard-related products—has suffered extensive damage as a result of the incident.

Firefighting units from the Colombo Municipal Council and the Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte Municipal Council were dispatched to bring the blaze under control.

The total extent of the damage is yet to be assessed, while the cause of the fire has not been determined, police further stated.

Sri Lanka’s political drive toward Artificial Intelligence (AI) under the JVP-led NPP government is gaining headline attention but the numbers tell a very different story.

The 2026 Budget allocates just Rs. 3 billion for AI development, national data platforms, and the establishment of government-run data centres. For a field where a single mid-scale data centre can cost between Rs. 20–40 billion, experts warn that the allocation is not only inadequate it is dangerously unrealistic.

Government officials privately acknowledge that the amount is barely enough for feasibility studies, consultancy fees, and pilot projects. Yet the administration continues to promote AI as a cornerstone of its economic transformation agenda.

The gap between political rhetoric and fiscal reality raises concerns that Sri Lanka may be entering the AI race with neither the required investment nor the institutional capability.

Meanwhile, global leaders are moving at lightning pace. IFS, which maintains major operations in Sri Lanka, yesterday in New York unveiled the next generation of Industrial AI at its Industrial X Unleashed showcase highlighting exactly the kind of capabilities Sri Lanka claims it wants to build.

IFS CEO Mark Moffa emphasized that transformative AI impact lies in industrial settings, not in generic office tools. “The opportunity to drive growth using AI is now especially when applied in industry,” he said.

IFS demonstrated real-world solutions that interpret multimodal data, predict faults, prevent downtime, and enhance asset reliability precisely the high-value applications Sri Lanka hopes to adopt but is far from capable of deploying.

IFS’s global partnerships with Anthropic, Boston Dynamics, Siemens, 1X Technologies, and major clients such as Eversource and William Grant & Sons showed industrial AI functioning at scale handling robotics, utility grids, manufacturing operations, energy networks, and advanced automation.

By contrast, Sri Lanka does not yet have a single hyperscale data centre, no national AI cloud, and no enterprise-grade computing infrastructure required to support applied AI. The country’s most experienced AI talent is concentrated in the private sector, while senior government officials overseeing AI policy lack exposure to machine learning engineering, MLOps, large-scale data management, or industrial automation.

This knowledge gap leaves the 2026 allocation of Rs. 3 billion looking even more insufficient. Building AI infrastructure requires:billions for purpose-built data centres,high-performance compute (HPC) clusters,cybersecurity frameworks,specialised AI engineering teams and sector-specific deployment models

Sri Lanka’s total allocation cannot even fund 10% of a single modern data centre, let alone a nationwide AI ecosystem.

Analysts warn that the government risks repeating past failures—overpromising grand technology initiatives without the required investment, engineering capability, or institutional planning. While global giants such as IFS and PwC operate with deep technical leadership and multi-billion-dollar ecosystems, Sri Lanka’s public service remains underprepared and under-skilled.

The concern is clear: the government is attempting an AI leap with neither the runway nor the aircraft.

 

Unless Sri Lanka urgently increases its investment, attracts technical leadership, and builds institutional knowledge, the country’s AI ambitions may end up as yet another politically packaged but technically hollow promise, overshadowed by global leaders who are already decades ahead.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment, Arun Hemachandra, will undertake an official visit to Brussels, Belgium, from 19 to 22 November 2025 to participate in the 4th EU–Indo Pacific Ministerial Forum.

During the visit, the Deputy Minister is scheduled to take part in the high-level sessions of the Forum, which brings together leaders and representatives from Europe and the Indo-Pacific region to discuss cooperation, security, connectivity, and sustainable development.

In addition to the main sessions, Deputy Minister Hemachandra is expected to hold a series of bilateral meetings with senior European Union officials and other dignitaries. Discussions will focus on areas of mutual interest, including trade, labour mobility, investment, maritime cooperation, and strengthening political ties between Sri Lanka and the EU.

The visit underscores Sri Lanka’s ongoing efforts to deepen engagement with the EU and enhance its presence in the Indo-Pacific policy landscape.

Sri Lanka may be celebrating record-breaking tourist arrivals, but behind the glossy numbers lies a stark truth: the state-run tourism promotion machinery is failing to convert footfalls into meaningful economic value. Despite October 2025 marking the highest visitor count ever recorded for that month, earnings remain anaemically low an indictment of amateur planning, inexperienced leadership, and institutions obsessed with arrival statistics rather than attracting high-spending travellers.

According to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, tourism earnings in October rose by a negligible 0.3% year-on-year, reaching just US$186.1 million. The figure is shockingly low compared to US$287.4 million earned in October 2018, when fewer tourists generated far more revenue. This widening mismatch exposes the core weakness of Sri Lanka’s tourism strategy: empty promotional slogans instead of targeted, value-driven marketing.

The country welcomed 165,193 visitors in October, a 22% increase over last year and even higher than the 153,123 arrivals recorded in 2018. Yet the revenue picture remains bleak. The authorities’ fixation on arrival numbers has overshadowed a more crucial metric spending power. With average daily tourist spending stuck at an unimpressive US$171, Sri Lanka continues to attract low-budget travellers rather than the high-value segments it desperately needs.

The earnings trend across the year paints an equally troubling picture. July revenue fell 3% to US$318.5 million, August dropped 8.2% to US$258.9 million, and September managed only a timid 1% increase to US$182.9 million. Even January the best month of 2025 generated only US$400.6 million, the highest since 2020 but still far below global tourism benchmarks.

For the first ten months of 2025, the sector brought in US$2.65 billion, a modest 4.9% improvement from last year. Yet this figure is still 33% below the earnings of 2018, when Sri Lanka collected US$3.53 billion over the same period and ultimately recorded its highest-ever annual tourism earnings of US$4.38 billion.

Despite this glaring underperformance, the state tourism institutions continue to operate without strategic direction. Industry insiders point to leadership dominated by politically appointed individuals lacking professional expertise. Their plans often underwhelming, outdated, or hastily assembled—fail to target high-spending markets such as Europe, East Asia, or the Middle East. Instead, authorities boast of raw arrival numbers while ignoring the more important task of increasing per-tourist revenue.

With only two months left in the year, Sri Lanka faces an almost impossible climb to meet its US$5 billion revenue target. To get there, the country would need to generate over US$2.34 billion in November and December more than four times its current monthly earnings. Tourism experts dismiss this as “unrealistic” given the poor demand momentum and lack of strategic promotional efforts.

Until Sri Lanka replaces its incompetent tourism leadership and adopts a serious, high-yield strategy, the nation will remain trapped in a self-inflicted paradox: millions of tourists arriving, but the economy barely feeling their presence.

Several spells of showers are expected in the Northern, North-Central, and Eastern provinces today (19), the Department of Meteorology announced.

Showers or thundershowers are also likely to develop in several areas of the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, and Uva provinces, as well as in the Nuwara Eliya district, particularly after 1.00 p.m.

Misty conditions are forecast during the early hours of the morning in parts of the Sabaragamuwa, Central, Uva, and Southern provinces.

Meanwhile, the public is advised to take necessary precautions to minimize the risks associated with temporary strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has responded to comments made in Parliament by SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva regarding the outdated and malfunctioning nature of several government and diplomatic mission websites. The Ministry clarified that the issues highlighted stem from obsolete technological frameworks used across these platforms.

Speaking in Parliament yesterday (17), Dr. de Silva criticized the government’s digital presence, particularly sections related to economic diplomacy and overseas investment promotion. He pointed out that several key webpages still display information from as far back as 2018–2019, and that the “Office of Overseas Sri Lankans” link on some diplomatic mission websites redirects users to error pages.

In a statement published by Ada Derana, MFA Spokesman Thushara Rodrigo acknowledged the concerns, noting that the websites of the Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism ministries—as well as many Sri Lankan missions abroad—operate on outdated technology.

He warned that certain sites could become completely inaccessible if updates are carried out without a comprehensive overhaul. To address these technical challenges, he said the government has initiated the creation of a unified website platform for all Sri Lankan diplomatic missions and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A contract for the development of this centralized platform was awarded on 17 October 2025, with the project currently underway under the guidance of the Ministry of Digital Economy, ICTA, and SLCERT.

Rodrigo added that an interagency meeting was held on 31 October to connect all diplomatic missions, assess individual issues, and coordinate the upgrade process. The project is expected to be completed by mid-January 2026.

He noted that this wide-ranging digital modernization effort is being implemented under the direction of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism, marking the first initiative of this scale under the government’s broader digitalization programme.

The Spokesman assured that the public will begin to experience the benefits of these improvements in the near future.