President Ranil Wickremesinghe left the island today for an official visit to Singapore and Japan.

While in Singapore, he will meet with Mr. K. Shanmugam, the Law and Home Affairs Minister, along with high-ranking diplomats.

The President’s visit to Japan, scheduled from May 24 to 27, will include discussions with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on strengthening bilateral relations and addressing regional and international matters.

Additionally, meetings are planned with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, Finance Minister Shun’ichi Suzuki, and Digital Transformation Minister Taro Kono.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe will also address the Nikkei Forum’s 28th Future of Asia conference in Tokyo on May 25 and 26.

This international conference convenes leaders to discuss political, economic, and regional issues in the Asia-Pacific region.

The President will engage with the Japan-Sri Lanka Business Cooperation Council, the Japan-Sri Lanka Parliamentary Friendship Association and the Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce in Japan.

It is worth noting that this is President Wickremesinghe’s second visit to Japan during his current tenure, following his attendance at the funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in September 2022.

The visit aims to strengthen cooperation and foster friendly relations between the two countries.

The President will be accompanied by Professor Maithree Wickramasinghe, Senior Advisor to the President on National Security and Chief of Presidential Staff Mr Sagala Ratnayake, Senior Advisor to the President on Economic Affairs Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga, the President’s Director of International Affairs Mr Dinuk Colombage, and the President’s Private Secretary Ms Sandra Perera.

In a significant move to address Sri Lanka’s fuel supply challenges, a contract agreement was signed with Sinopec, a leading international petroleum company. The agreement, signed yesterday (22), marks a crucial step in ensuring a steady and uninterrupted fuel supply for the nation.

The signing ceremony took place at the Presidential Secretariat, with representatives from both Sri Lanka and Sinopec in attendance.

Secretary of the Ministry of Power and Energy Mr. M.P.D.U.K. Mapa Pathirana and Mr. Chen Chengmin, Managing Director of Fuel Production and Marketing Department of Sinopec Company, signed the agreement in front of the President.

On the Sri Lanka side, the Secretary of the Ministry of Power and Energy, the Chairman & Managing Director of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, and the Chairman of the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Limited participated. From Sinopec, representatives from Sinopec Fuel Oil Lanka (Private) Limited, Sinopec Fuel Oil Sales Co. Ltd (People’s Republic of China), and Sinopec Fuel Oil (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. were present to formalize the agreement.

In response to the on-going foreign exchange crisis in Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Power and Energy has taken this decisive action to ensure an uninterrupted fuel supply to consumers. With the inability to provide sufficient foreign exchange for fuel shipments, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and Lanka Indian Oil Company (LIOC) faced significant challenges.

To tackle this issue, the Ministry explored various strategies and one of them involved inviting Expression of Interests (EOIs) from reputable petroleum companies established in producing countries. The goal was to import, store, distribute, and sell Petroleum Products in predetermined Distribution Dealer operated Networks in Sri Lanka. The Cabinet of Ministers approved this initiative.

One of the key requirements for new retail suppliers entering the market was their ability to secure forex requirements without depending on the domestic banking sector. It was mandated that these companies source their own funds for fuel procurement through foreign sources, at least during the initial one-year period of operation.

After receiving EOIs, the companies that were shortlisted were invited to submit detailed proposals in response to a Request for Proposal (RFP) document. The Cabinet Appointed Special Committee (CASC) and the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) thoroughly scrutinized the proposals and recommended awarding contracts to the following companies, subject to negotiations:

M/s Sinopec Fuel Oil Lanka (Private) Limited, F5, Hambantota Maritime Center, Mirijjawila, Hambantota, Sri Lanka
M/s United Petroleum Pty Ltd, 600 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia
M/s RM Parks, 1061 N. Main St, Porterville, CA 93257, USA, in collaboration with Shell PLC
The Cabinet of Ministers, considering the recommendations made by the CASC and the Committee Appointed by the Cabinet, granted approval to award the contracts to the selected suppliers.

Sinopec, along with its affiliated companies, is set to commence operations in Sri Lanka within 45 days following the issuance of the license. This development brings hope for a more stable and reliable fuel supply, boosting the country’s energy sector and providing assurance to consumers.

Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera, State Ministers D.V. Chanaka, Indika Anuruddha, Shehan Semasingha, President’s Senior Advisor on National Security and Chief of Staff Sagala Ratnayake, President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake, Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong and representatives of Sinopec Oil Lanka Pvt. Ltd, Sinopec China Pvt Ltd and Sinopec Singapore Pvt Ltd were present on this occasion.

 Be the leader in presenting a 10-year development plan - The President tells the Colombo University Alumni

The Australian Government has announced that it will gift a former Royal Australian Air Force Beechcraft KA350 King Air aircraft (registration A32-673) to the Sri Lankan Government. The aircraft will be used to enhance Sri Lanka's sovereign aerial maritime surveillance capability.

A meeting of the heads of state of the Commonwealth of Nations was convened in London yesterday (05), with the presence of King Charles III and President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

This thrice blessed day of Vesak being most important in the Buddhist calendar, dawns with sacred significance.

LABOUR DAY MESSAGE

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka in its Annual Report 2022 released yesterday said that the Policy measures and reforms implemented by the Government and the Central Bank have yielded notable success.

The report said that Inflation returned to an impressive disinflation path following a historic peak in September 2022, and the exchange rate remained stable and registered an appreciation in early 2023, having depreciated sharply during the first half of 2022.

This report consisting of four main parts was presented to Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies Minister and President Ranil Wickremesinghe by CBSL Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe at the Finance Ministry yesterday. It highlighted that the external current account deficit remained modest alongside the gradual accumulation of official reserves, thereby enabling the reinstatement of exchange rate flexibility.

“The envisaged normalisation of foreign exchange flows and the completion of the debt restructuring process during 2023, and the sweeping reforms in the public sector, are expected  to pave way for the country’s progress towards improved and sustainable economic prospects”, the report said.

The Central Bank in its report insisted that the consistent and well co-ordinated policies, including those outlined in the IMF-Extended Fund Facility supported programme, should be executed in a timely manner to avert another crisis in the period ahead in the country’s efforts to emerge from the current crisis.

“The Government initiated measures in early 2022 to seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after months of indecisiveness. The IMF had already assessed that Sri Lanka’s public debt had reached unsustainable levels, hence, any funding assistance from the IMF needed to be preceded by efforts to restructure public debt”, the report said.

“When it reached a critical point of inability to service debt payments, the Government announced a debt standstill in mid-April 2022, thereby suspending the servicing of external debt, mainly bilateral and commercial debt, as an interim measure, while soliciting support from official and private creditors to restructure outstanding debt.

The CBSL report outlined how steps were taken to enhance enhance government revenue, curtail expenditure, introduce reforms to major State Owned Enterprises (SOE), implement import controls, and ration energy supply, while exploring bridging finance from bilateral and multilateral partners for essential expenditures as well as supporting the most vulnerable segments.

“With a multitude of goals to be achieved under the IMF-EFF arrangement, restoring public debt sustainability through the debt restructuring process will be one of the key milestones in the path towards attaining a sustained growth in the economy.

However, debt restructuring could pose near term challenges in the financial sector that need to be addressed proactively by the Government and Central Bank, thereby reinforcing the financial system stability in the period ahead.

“Having run an unsustainable macroeconomic model in tandem with the longstanding deficits in the budget balance and the external current account, the economy had fully exhausted its buffers by early 2022 as it was straddled by a myriad of vulnerabilities that emanated from both global and domestic sources”, the report said.

The first part of the CBSL report consists of eight chapters and 30 sub-chapters explaining the state of the economic affairs of the year, while the second part consists of a collection of gazettes and circulars related to various policy measures taken by the Government and the CBSL. The third part of this report explains the departments of the CBSL and their related roles and the

fourth part includes a list of laws and ordinances related to the banking system connected to the Government and the CBSL.

In accordance with Section 35 of the Monetary Law Act, the Monetary Board of the CBSL is required to produce an annual report on the economic conditions and the policies taken for that year and submit it to the Minister of Finance within four months after the end of the relevant year.

Secretary of the Ministry of Finance Mahinda Siriwardana, Director of the Economic Research Department of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Dr. P.K.G.Harishchandra, Additional Directors of Economic Research Dr. Mrs.S.Jegajeevan and Dr. L. R. C. Pathberiya participated in this event.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe urged the Opposition to unite and disregard political differences to assist in carrying out the IMF agreement, which will aid in the development of Sri Lanka’s economy. The President emphasized that his duty is not to condemn previous administrations but to concentrate on the development of the country.

He also declared his dedication to constructing a better future by creating laws and frameworks that prevent the recurrence of past errors.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe delivered this message in a special address to Parliament yesterday morning (22) regarding the receipt of the Extended Credit Facility from the International Monetary Fund.

He stated that despite allegations being levelled against him, that his objective was not to rescue the country from an economic crisis but to safeguard the Rajapaksa family, the international community had acknowledged his efforts to carry the country across the economic vine bridge.

The President further said that he had faith in rebuilding the beloved country where he was born, brought up and educated, and said that many past experiences were the reasons for confirming that faith.

He pointed out that getting the IMF agreement was an opportunity to raise the motherland again and said that a new path has been opened to build the future of the country’s youth.

The President acknowledged the societal pressure caused by inflation and claimed to possess a comprehensive understanding of it. He reassured that the ongoing challenges are temporary and the public will soon reap the rewards of the current efforts and commitment. The President also took this opportunity to pay tribute to all the people of the country who persevered with all the difficulties and pressures to get the IMF agreement.

The "Satarawa Deepani" Felicitation Ceremony, which was organized at the behest of Minister of Transport, Highways, and Mass Media, Dr. Bandula Gunawardena was held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) Yesterday afternoon (16). The event, presided over by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, was held on a grand scale.

Director of the Mental Health Department of the Ministry of Health Dr. Rohan Ratnayake, yesterday said that 3,406 suicides had been reported last year and one suicide is reported every four hours.

 He also stated that suicides can be prevented if mental health is improved.

He said this yesterday (16) while participating in a workshop held jointly by the Ministry of Media and the Ministry of Health at the Sri Lanka Administrative Development Institute.

He said that 2,832 of the suicides reported last year were men and the remaining 574 were women. Accordingly, the number of cases of male suicides is higher than female suicides.

Dr. Rohan Ratnayake also said that people resort to suicide due to chronic illnesses, impotence, mental illness and drug addiction etc.

The Director of Mental Health said that more suicides had taken place in Gampaha and Kurunegala Districts while suicides in the Gampaha District had increased irregularly last year.