Sri Lanka will no longer be considered a bankrupt nation and the country is to resume its normal transactions following President Ranil Wickremasinghe’s declaring of the debt restructuring settlement with external creditors and sovereign bond holders next Thursday 27.

Another game of political chess board is to begin this week with President’s French Defense one of the oldest openings in chess.

According to astrology this will be an auspicious day for the people who silently suffered during past two years due to man-made economic crisis as a result of unviable policies of the ousted president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Contrary to news reports last week about the arrival of Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi , the Sri Lanka trip will not take place.

Diplomatic sources said that he will not visit Sri Lanka until the presidential elections are concluded. India’s External Affairs Minister, Subramaniam Jayashankar, ended a day-long visit to Colombo with a series of meetings.

Besides President Wickremesinghe, he met Opposition and SJB leader, Sajith Premadasa, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, separately with Basil Rajapaksa and representatives of Tamil political parties.

The government will sign a MoU with the official creditor committee of the Paris Club of Nations and an agreement with the Export-Import Bank of China and Ad Hoc Private Bondholder’s group will be reached on Wednesday June 26

Sri Lanka will announce the country’s freedom from bankruptcy status on Thursday June 27, 26 months after declaring a preemptive default in April 12, 2022 suspending external debt repayment at a time where the country’s gross official reserves stood at just US$ 20 million,

Rejoiced people are preparing to celebrate the occasion countrywide by lighting crackers and partaking mild rice (kiribath) in weeklong celebrations on a grand scale, organisers said.

The government is to go ahead with structural reforms to unlock Sri Lanka's long-term growth potential. Steadfast implementation of the governance reforms would support the authorities’ broader reform agenda.

Key priorities include first, further trade liberalization to promote export and foreign direct investment, labor reforms to upgrade skills and increase female labor force participation, state-owned enterprise reforms to improve efficiency and transparency and to contain fiscal risks, and promote a level playing field for the private sector

The economy is starting to recover, inflation remains low, revenue collection is improving, and reserves continue to accumulate.

Real GDP expanded by 3 percent year-on-year in the second half of 2023. May 2024, inflation was 0.9 percent, and gross international reserves increased to $5.5 billion dollars by the end of April of this year.

The primary balance improved to a surplus, with tax revenue increasing to 9.8 percent of GDP in 2023.

But the benefits of these improvement of economic indicators are still to be passed on to the people owing to back tracking of official bureaucracy and trade union work stoppages coupled with disruptive activities of extremists.

The IMF Executive Board completed the 2024 Article IV Consultation and Second Review under the 48-month Extended Fund Facility with Sri Lanka, which is providing the country with immediate access to about $336 million to support its economic policies and reforms.

This brings the total IMF financial support dispersed so far to about $1 billion. The program continues to support Sri Lanka's efforts to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability mitigate the economic impact on the poor and vulnerable, rebuild external buffers, safeguard financial sector stability and strengthen governance and its growth potential.

The IMF Executive Board's approval recognizes the strong program performance. All quantitative targets were met except for the marginal shortfall of the indicative target on social spending. Most structural benchmarks were either met or implemented with delay.

Reforms and policy adjustments are bearing fruit. The economy is starting to recover, inflation remains low, revenue collection is improving, and reserves continue to accumulate. Real GDP expanded by 3 percent year-on-year in the second half of 2023.

May 2024, inflation was 0.9 percent, and gross international reserves increased to $5.5 billion dollars by the end of April of this year. The primary balance improved to a surplus, with tax revenue increasing to 9.8 percent of GDP in 2023.

In this back drop President Ranil Wickremasinghe is expected to announce his candidature in the upcoming presidential election this week amidst attempts to form an alliance with board support of various political parties and independent groups along with civil society activists.

President is planning to participate in the Matara land deeds distribution program on the 30th and officially announce his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election along with the political pressure he will take through it.

In addition to this, the government has implemented a plan to bring several members of the opposition to the government on that day.

Meanwhile several meetings with SLPP with its strategist Basil Rajapaksa to join hands with the president to go for elections ended in a dead lock as key members of the government’s Election Steering Committee, including Nimal Siripala de Silva and Duminda Dissanayake, expressed their views against including Pohottuwa in the new alliance.

Angered by the protest against the Rajapakasa clan Basil lambasted his colleagues saying that “if you don’t want us one time we don’t need you hundreds times”. It was evident that Basil and the Clan were considering presenting a candidate for the presidential election.

Millionaire businessman Dhammika Perera is ready to present himself as the presidential candidate of SLPP and it has also agreed to the nomination. And now he is organizing election campaign activities by opening IT education centers countrywide with the participation of SLPP ministers.,

In addition Dhammika has now started talking about politics on these platforms canvassing votes for his presidential candidacy .

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) wants to expel Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, Minister of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms, from party membership. The move will see him lose his parliamentary seat.

However, it is the President who will have to determine whether he can remain a cabinet minister. Here again, to continue as one, being a Member of Parliament, either elected or appointed, is a requirement.