“Sri Lanka’s hard economic times would last another year”

Sri Lanka’s economic woes would last for another year says, President Ranil Wickremesinghe. He also said that to revive the bankrupt economy country has to look forward to new sectors like logistics and nuclear energy. Speaking at a two-day conference titled “Let’s reset Sri Lanka” held on Friday, Wickremesinghe said that reforms in the country also would need higher taxation.

Sri Lanka is going through its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948. Wickremesinghe, who was elected the president last month by Parliament, will serve the remaining term of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country and resigned amidst the massive anti-government protests.

Wickremesinghe said that over 6 million of the 21 million population of the country are malnourished. More and more are unemployed, he said, adding that additional funds are being set aside to support them. Wickremesinghe said political stability was important to set in motion the required reforms.