State Minister of Regional Co-operation Tharaka Balasuriya, has said that a prolonged war in Ukraine will have an 'astronomical' on Sri Lanka.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, Balasuriya noted both the indirect and direct impacts on Sri Lanka caused by the war. Russia is considered one of Sri Lanka's biggest economic markets in terms of tourism, Ukraine is also a leading tourism market. 175,000 tourists visited Sri Lanka in January and February, 28,000 were from Russia and 13,000 from Ukraine. The loss of tourism from these countries was not good news for the country, the minister claimed.
The state minister added that the two countries were top buyers of Sri Lanka's tea and that a prolonged war would have an impact on the industry already deeply impacted by the Rajapaksa regime's failed fertiliser ban policy. Despite the minister claiming that Sri Lanka had adopted a neutral stance on the war and that the country had been a 'Non-Aligned nation', government officials requested a USD $300 million credit line from Russia. The credit line was to purchase crude oil, gas and oil, Sri Lanka has been facing severe fuel shortages as the country struggles to meet debt repayments.
Despite the government's concerns over the economic impacts on the island caused by the war, the Sri Lankan military continues to occupy vast swathes of the North-East. The increased militarisation of the Tamil homelands has stifled economic development as the military apparatus directly competes with the local Tamil population.
Read more at the Sunday Times
