International Relations of Sri Lanka

      E nvironmentalists are at an extreme end with Gotabaya Government and Basil Rajapaksha. They seem come a little bit of short to understand that development cannot be achieved without one form being transformed to another, whether it be a road or a bridge. Finding a middle path is a too much of a compromise to them. The country needs a conceptual change about the utilisation of natural resources, development and developer. H ow could a state build houses, cities, skyscrapers, roads and highways without mining crude oil, sand, gravel and soil? How could a state be self-sufficient, competitive and industrialised with its farming without some deforestations? Cannot the state nurture mud crabs in mangroves without destroying its eco system? Cannot a part of lagoon host an attractive harbour for leisure crafts and be an eco-tourism hotspot at the same time? Will such developments ruin their eco systems completely? Gotabaya Government has to utilise all the resources the...

           S ince the President Gotabaya was elected he and his administration took ever greater measures to stimulate stagnating economy, cutting down taxes and increasing VAT threshold to encourage investments. He welcomed all developed nations to invest in Sri Lanka instead of finger pointing at the biggest investors. However, prevailing world reality of this unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic projects the development of our economy in a blur horizon at its worst, and as an uphill struggle at its best. Chart 1 - Ratio of world merchandise trade growth to world GDP growth, 1990‑2020 % change and ratio Source:    WTO Secretariat for trade and consensus estimates for historical GDP. Projections for GDP based on scenarios simulated with WTO Global Trade Model.                                   T he idea of being self-sufficient is up in the agen...