Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday said 2023 will be a “critical year” for the cash-strapped country. Sri Lanka was hit by an unprecedented financial crisis in 2022 due to a severe paucity in foreign exchange reserves that also sparked political turmoil in the island nation that led to the ouster of the all-powerful Rajapaksa family.
I understand the great burdens that are placed on all of us and the setbacks that a majority of us have suffered due to the country’s abject economic collapse. We are looking at the New Year 2023 after having undergone the bleakest of times, immense hardships, as well as the uncertainties and hopelessness of the last year.
The Sri Lankan government in May last year declared a debt default on over USD 51 billion in the foreign loan – a first in the country’s history. Indeed, 2023 will be a critical year in which we plan to turn around the economy, Wickremesinghe said in his New Year’s message.
