Debt-stricken Sri Lanka marked its 77th independence anniversary with a military parade, while the country’s newly elected president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, pledged to heal Sri Lanka’s economic woes by the end of his five-year term.
Sri Lanka, which gained independence from Britain in 1948, suffered its worst economic crisis in 2022, forcing the island nation to declare bankruptcy.
The economic crisis caused political upheaval and finally paved the way for Mr Dissanayake’s party to win power four months ago.
Addressing a ceremony in the capital, Colombo, he urged Sri Lankans to work together to win economic, social and cultural freedom, saying, “Everyone has a role to play in this struggle.”
Under his leadership, Sri Lanka is trying to emerge from bankruptcy by restructuring its staggering debt.
In September, Sri Lanka announced it had concluded the debt restructuring process after reaching agreements with bilateral and multilateral creditors and private bondholders.
Sri Lanka’s crisis was largely the result of economic mismanagement combined with the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, along with 2019 terrorist attacks that devastated its important tourism industry.
The pandemic also disrupted the flow of remittances from Sri Lankans working abroad.
