Category: Special Reports
Sri Lanka urges foreign states to extend visas of visiting Sri Lankans
Mar 18, 2020 (LBO) – Sri Lanka requests foreign governments to facilitate the appropriate extension of visas for Sri Lankans currently visiting their countries and facing difficulty to return to Sri Lanka on account of the travel bans that have and will become applicable as part of the control measures on COVID- 19. Full statement […]
Imported masks & disinfectants exempted from taxes
Mar 18, 2020 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government has decided to exempt imported face masks and disinfectants from taxes with effect from midnight today. Accordingly, these items have now been subjected to the Special Commodity Levy Act. The Finance Minister has taken this decision in view of the high demand for the products due to […]
WHO officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic
Mar 10, 2020 (LBO) – The World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic. As cases of the coronavirus surge in Italy, Iran, South Korea, the U.S. and elsewhere, many scientists say it’s plain that the world is in the grips of a pandemic — a serious global outbreak. Until now, the World Health Organization […]
Easter Sunday attacks: Second interim report handed over to President
Mar 03, 2020 (LBO) – The second interim report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry appointed to probe Easter Sunday attacks was handed over to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat, Monday. The first interim report was handed over on December 20th, 2019. The Commission was appointed by the former President Maithripala Sirisena on […]
Foreign Ministry succeeds in evacuating two Sri Lankans on board Diamond Princess
Feb 27, 2020 (LBO) – The two Sri Lankan crew members who were on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama, Japan, were evacuated last night (26 February) by a charter flight organised by the Indian Government to New Delhi upon a request made by the Sri Lankan Government. The two Sri Lankan crew […]
Foreign Ministry ensures welfare of Lankans following COVID-19 concerns in S Korea
Feb 22, 2020 (LBO) – The Ministry of Foreign Relations in coordination with the Sri Lanka Embassy in Seoul has been closely monitoring and coordinating efforts to ensure the safety of Sri Lankans residing in South Korea, following the recent rise of COVID-19 cases, particularly, in the city of Daegu. According to the Sri Lanka […]
Sri Lanka, Bangladesh agreed to IMF to provide debt relief for Somalia
Feb 17, 2020 (LBO) – Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have reportedly agreed to provide debt relief for Somalia under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative of the International Monetary fund (IMF). The Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Foreign Relations have expressed their concurrence to provide Sri Lanka’s contribution. Accordingly, the […]
“Timelines evolved externally would hinder process of reconciliation”: SL tells UN Security Council
Feb 17, 2020 (LBO) – “Timelines evolved externally in achieving stated objectives would only seek to hinder the process of reconciliation since they would be bereft of ground realities” emphasized Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Kshenuka Senewiratne. She was speaking at a one day debate at the UN Security Council titled […]
Opinion: Girls in STEM, How is Sri Lanka faring?
Ashani Abayasekara Written for International Day of Women and Girls in Science on 11 February 2020 Sri Lanka is well recognised as a leader in gender-equal education in the developing world; World Bank statistics show that primary and secondary school enrollments and completion rates are similar for girls and boys, while girls have higher enrollment […]
Our message is same for Tajikistan, Pakistan or Sri Lanka: US Ambassador Wells
Feb 07, 2020 (LBO) – US Ambassador Alice Wells says that on Belt and Road Initiative or on China–Pakistan Economic Corridor, their message is the same whether they are engaging with Tajikistan, Pakistan, or Sri Lanka. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs at the State Department, Alice Wells […]
Opinion: Measuring poverty within Sri Lanka’s new reality as upper-middle-income country
Wimal Nanayakkara Sri Lanka achieved ‘Upper Middle Income Country’ (UMIC) status in July 2019, as the country’s Gross National Income (GNI) increased from USD 3,840 per capita in 2018 to USD 4,060 per capita in 2019. World Bank’s (WB) new threshold for UMICs is USD 3,996 – USD 12,375 GNI per capita. Sri Lanka scraped […]
Sri Lanka gifts a consignment of Ceylon Black Tea to China
Feb 06, 2020 (LBO) – President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday gifted a consignment of world-renowned Ceylon Black Tea to the Chinese Ambassador Cheng Xueyuan to be sent to those affected by the Coronavirus. Ambassador Xueyuan on behalf of President Xi Jinping and the Government of the People’s Republic of China has thanked Sri Lanka for […]