A special statement by former President & United National Party Leader Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, the former President and Leader of the United National Party said today (17) that the new government will face the challenge of increasing the state revenue to fifteen per cent of the Gross Domestic Product by 2027 when Sri Lanka will start repaying its foreign debt. Mr Wickremesinghe said that an increase of one per cent in economic growth is required every year in order to reach that goal and emphasized that the next parliament needs an experienced team that will not shirk from their responsibilities.

The former President said that the group that worked with him to ensure the recovery of the country in the face of the economic crisis will run for the general election under the symbol of the gas cylinder. He added that in order for the parliament, which holds the financial power, to be strong, the Cylinder should win.

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who made a special statement at the New Democratic Front office in Colombo, said: I took over the country as President when we were unable to pay our debts and had declared bankruptcy. My primary goal at that time was to restore debt sustainability and to take Sri Lanka out of the state of bankruptcy. In those two years, I reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, the eighteen countries that had given us loans, and the private bondholders.

Accordingly, we reached an agreement that would ensure we became debt-sustainable and then removed our country from the state of bankruptcy. All these procedures were completed, and the approval of the private bondholders was received in the first week of September of this year. Due to the measures we have taken, we can now engage with foreign banks. Foreign aid is also available. We are no longer bankrupt due to our debt sustainability.

I worked with the last parliament to rescue the country from bankruptcy. I would like to express my thanks to all the members of that parliament. I also express my thanks to the officials who worked with that parliament.

Now, we have to implement that sustainability agreement. It has been reported that the current President will submit amendments in this regard. If so, the parliament has the fiscal power to implement the revised agreement. It is the responsibility of the new parliament to implement it. We have several goals that must be implemented to achieve sustainability.

First of all, we have to begin repaying our debt from the year 2028. By the year 2027, our government revenue should be 15 per cent of the gross domestic product. Currently, that figure is 12 per cent. To reach this goal, one per cent growth should be achieved every year.

By the end of this year, we can regain the levels of gross domestic product that were achieved in 2019. At the same time, we have to increase our foreign exchange reserves. Our foreign exchange reserve should be in the range of 10-14 billion dollars. After meeting these goals, we have to pay off the debt. We have to achieve the above goals within this period. For that, we need to ensure rapid economic development. Another important aspect of this program is the implementation of a number of anti-corruption measures. Parliament is responsible for all these matters. According to the Presidential election results, no party will get a majority in the parliament. Somehow, in order to fulfil the responsibilities of the new parliament, the negative experiences of the previous parliament cannot be repeated. During the last parliament, no one came forward to accept their responsibilities. I came forward and gathered members of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, United National Party and the Pohottuwa and worked to form a Government.

Such incidents should not be repeated in the next parliament. There are three main groups in this parliament. Among those three groups, I want to mention one group here.

I ran for the presidential election under the symbol of the gas cylinder. The Pohottuwa, United National Party, Sri Lanka Freedom Party, New Alliance and all other groups came together and supported me. These people have worked under my leadership. Now, all of them have come together once again.

A part of those MPs, as well as a part of the officials of the United National Party who worked with me, are coming together again in this election. They are running under the New Democratic Party. They are going to contest this election under my leadership. All these people have the necessary experience. They have carried out the required work properly in the past.

Those who have worked with me for the past two years have the experience to face economic crises, so they must be in the parliament. Whether you are in the opposition or the government, you cannot run the parliament without this experience; if you try, you will fail to achieve the goals.

Therefore, those who worked in the United National Party, those who supported us in Pohottuwa and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party as well as the new alliance, request their members to support our candidates. Also, a request was made to those who had not voted earlier. In order to solve the country’s economic problem and move forward, these experienced people should be in the parliament.

Your future will be decided by the new parliament. If we do this work successfully, we can recover as a country. Therefore, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that everyone is requested to give their valuable vote to the gas cylinder.