 "Ranil Wickremesinghe")
Projecting a positive shift in the cash-strapped Sri Lankan economy, President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday said despite negative growth through the earlier year, the nation rebounded with a 1.6 per cent growth rate in the Q3 of 2023 and also achieved a surplus by end 2023, first since 1977.
President Wickremesinghe was delivering the Statement of Government Policy' on the first day of the Fifth Session of the Ninth Parliament here.
Despite a 7.8 per cent GDP contraction and six consecutive quarters of negative growth in 2022, the nation rebounded with a 1.6 per cent growth rate in the Q3 of 2023, he said.
Wickremesinghe further announced a significant turnaround in the nation's economic landscape. Despite the 1.9 per cent GDP deficit in 2022, the island nation has achieved a surplus by the end of 2023, marking the first such occurrence since 1977, Ada Derana website said, quoting the President as he delivered his speech streamed live.
He started his address by announcing that the government expects to ease the tax burden on the people moving forward while stabilising the country's economy by continuing to implement economic reforms, it said.
Earlier, the President had instructed to hold the Ceremonial Opening of the Fifth Session as a formal ceremony and thus, gun salutes and motorcades were not to be held, NewsFirst.lk said.
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