In an increasingly challenging global environment, it is crucial that the present government acts with foresight and pays close attention to the evolving situation, says former State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe.

While highlighting the April 2025 forecast made by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), former State Minister Semasinghe said the present administration must continue reforms and strengthen resilience against external shocks.

Semasinghe, who represented the previous administration during key discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and external creditors, said the ADB has projected Sri Lanka’s recovery to continue with a growth of 3.9% in 2025 and 3.4% in 2026, which is slower than the 5% growth recorded in 2024. 

Therefore, the former State Minister of Finance is of the view that the present administration should not disregard the challenges posed to Sri Lanka owing to conflicts in various parts of the world.

Rapidly deteriorating relations between India and Pakistan over a deadly shooting in Kashmir are starting to have small but prickly economic consequences for both nations, and according to experts it could also have an impact on regional partners.

The killing of 26 men on Tuesday (Apr 22) in Indian-administered Kashmir, the deadliest attack on civilians in the Himalayan region in a quarter of a century, triggered public outrage across the world’s most populous country.

India has unveiled a series of mostly symbolic diplomatic measures against Pakistan, after accusing its regional rival of supporting “cross-border terrorism”.

Islamabad, which rejected the allegations, responded on Thursday with similar tit-for-tat measures - but upped the ante by halting trade with New Delhi and closing its airspace to Indian airlines.

Experts say that while the retaliatory moves will not have an immediate or far-reaching impact, they will likely result in longer and more expensive flights for Indians, while forcing Pakistan to increase pharmaceutical imports from other countries.