{"id":79051,"date":"2022-08-24T00:36:19","date_gmt":"2022-08-24T04:36:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=79051"},"modified":"2022-08-24T18:03:17","modified_gmt":"2022-08-24T22:03:17","slug":"79051","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=79051","title":{"rendered":"\u201cIt\u2019s not worth dragging this out.Take a deep cut, but ensure that you can get recovery going. So\u2026when you make changes, make it deep, make all the changes you have to make and then allow it to come up\u2026\u201d- President Ranil Wickremesinghe in Interview with \u201cThe Economist\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

We (The Economist) interviewed the president of Sri Lanka in Colombo on August 14th 2022. This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.<\/strong>
\n
\nThe Economist: <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Thank you very much for taking the time to see us, Mr Wickremesinghe. The last time we were here was three weeks ago, when it was obvious that this was a country in crisis. We got in last night and the vibe has changed tremendously. It\u2019s visible on the street, on the way in from the airport. What has happened since July 21st to have caused that change?<\/p>\n

Ranil Wickremesinghe:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Firstly, I think people wanted law and order. A lot of people are losing out\u2026employed people couldn\u2019t go to work. They had complaints about the government, but when President Gotabaya [Rajapaksa, Mr Wickremesinghe\u2019s predecessor] left, they were willing to give us another chance. The election of the president went constitutionally, parliament voted, and has taken on the existing cabinet so that we can call for an all-party government, with people from outside within the committee system. We will devise some new mechanisms for that. People know that we are going in for a tough time. And they want to get out of it as soon as possible. Even those that supported the aragalaya [the protest movement], from about the end of May, they were getting tired of [the chaos]. And they didn\u2019t expect the violence that took place on the 9th and the 13th.<\/p>\n

TE: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Concretely though, there\u2019s obviously more fuel in the country, the qr code system seems to be a big success, the fuel queues have vanished. There are more cars and auto rickshaws on the street. What steps have been taken in the past three weeks to have changed the mood of the country?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Well, first, we had to tackle the fuel issue. Second was the fact that we were reaching out to everyone. Even peaceful protesters in the aragalaya were welcomed. We are willing to establish people\u2019s assemblies to look at all the changes to be made. The new standing order for oversight committees makes room for four youth representatives. And they can ask questions, with the permission of the chairman. And while they can\u2019t subscribe to the report, they can have their views recorded in it. And the parliament itself is grappling with ensuring that all the parties in the all-party administration can work together.<\/p>\n

TE: <\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve said it\u2019s very important to you to form that kind of government. What\u2019s so important about it? And what makes it problematic?<\/p>\n

RW: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Well there\u2019s a big crisis here. So how do we even get parties to work together? I\u2019ve taken the lead in pushing the 22nd Amendment [to reduce the powers of the executive presidency], which is what they all wanted. So we will bring that in. And then you can set a new study for a new constitution, if they want. I brought that together with the select committee, the oversight committee system, plus a new National Council, modelled on something like the European Council. Also, we will try to get behind a common minimum programme so that the government knows that we have party support. Other issues can be discussed regularly, once a month. That\u2019s to get the party leaders in. I said that I\u2019m willing to have some of the chairmen of the oversight committees invited to cabinet as and when necessary.<\/p>\n

TE: <\/strong>
\nWhat have been the obstacles in setting up this all-party government?<\/p>\n

RW: <\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019re only in discussions and every party is now in different groups. It\u2019s not merely a question of parties, but groups and their point of view. The responsibility for the country coming out of the crisis lies with parliament. I refer even the IMF proposals to parliament. If anyone has better proposals, certainly we look at them. Otherwise we have to go ahead with what we have.<\/p>\n

TE: <\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve been very honest in recent weeks about how difficult it\u2019s going to be, and what needs to happen to reduce the deficit and get back to a primary surplus, to reduce government debt. In terms of concrete steps, legislative priorities on economic policy, what are some of the things you need to tackle first?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong><\/p>\n

We need a public-finance bill on the new taxes, then on state-owned enterprises [soes]. My idea is to do a deep cut and make a legislative framework for a highly competitive export-oriented economy, and then ensure the recovery takes off by 2024. It\u2019s not worth dragging this out. Take a deep cut, but ensure that you can get recovery going so\u2026\u2026……………….<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

What do you mean by deep cut?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

So that when you make changes, make it deep, make all the changes you have to make and then allow it to come up. Thailand did that but Thailand only had a banking crisis, they didn\u2019t have a budget crisis. We have both but I am confident we can somehow make it through.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

What does it mean in practice to say that you want to establish the legislative framework for a competitive economy?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Firstly, budgetary. You take the fiscal and monetary steps to get your deficit down. At the same time you have to look at the legislative steps that are necessary to build a highly competitive, export-oriented economy. We did this back in 1977 when I was in the cabinet. We brought in legislation to open up the economy.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

So can you give us two or three examples, for the short term, for the budget, on income tax, vat, soes?<\/p>\n

RW: <\/strong><\/p>\n

You will have to raise taxes, you will have to tax capital, tax wealth. The tax net has to be widened. And that will bring some of the lost revenue. By about the middle of next year, we\u2019ll have the same, or we\u2019ll even go beyond the tax net we had in 2018.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

You\u2019ve also mentioned you want Sri Lanka to be not just upper-middle-income but upper income in 25 years. What are some of the things you need to do now to make that happen?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

That\u2019s a question about how do you open up? Before that, we\u2019ve got to handle the whole issue of banks. We are looking now at disposing of some state assets, which will give us about $2bn-3bn. That\u2019s the groundwork. Then to open up we have some of the reports we used in 2018-19 that you could implement, but basically integrate yourself with the region. In South Asia itself I can\u2019t see very much regional integration. So we will look at closer relations with asean [Association of South-East Asian Nations] and rcep [Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, an Asian trade pact].<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Apart from Sri Lankan airlines, what are some of the marquee soes that could be privatised?<\/p>\n

RW: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, you can sell Sri Lanka Insurance, there\u2019s telecoms. What we do with the petroleum corporation is another question.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

So open up the petroleum market to other players?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, we\u2019ll open up investments, but we have to talk to all holders of concessions because some have been running for over 40 years. Laws governing the offshore economy also need to change. We\u2019re looking at Ireland as a model for that.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

What are some of the immediate laws you\u2019re going to bring in?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong><\/p>\n

A law similar to US Chapter 11 bankruptcy is one of the most immediate. The rest are about economic stability. We\u2019ve also got some additional powers for the next year and a half to tackle the situation.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

You mentioned a few laws that you said you\u2019re going to bring into parliament. That\u2019s what I was referring to.<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Well this process will go on into 2024, company law has to be amended, a whole lot of commercial laws, we are looking at ease of doing business. So that means cutting through so many regulations. There are so many laws for how to operate even a basic item\u2014there are so many authorities running by themselves. I\u2019m also looking at the boi [Board of Investment], we have to look at the overall investment effort of Sri Lanka. I\u2019m not satisfied with it. The money we put in we haven\u2019t gotten back. So I suppose in one way this is a disaster, but it\u2019s also an opportunity to create something new, like we did in 1977.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

How much are the things that you were just talking about part of the demands from the International Monetary Fund, and how much goes beyond that?<\/p>\n

RW: <\/strong><\/p>\n

The demand is actually always tabulated for the four-year agreement. So we have to go ahead with that. That\u2019ll be the base for the restructuring, and then we\u2019ll be able to build on that.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

With some of the things you\u2019re talking about, it sounds like you\u2019re not just dealing with the immediate situation, but ensuring that Sri Lanka has a strong foundation.<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong><\/p>\n

A strong foundation. And we won\u2019t be around then, but we\u2019ll become an upper-income country one day.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

You said that the imf agreement, which was supposed to come in August, is probably only going to be in September?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve been discussing, there are about three items that have been finalised, the team is coming, then you\u2019re also picking up the discussions with Lazard and Clifford Chance [Sri Lanka\u2019s financial and legal advisers]. The problem is that the disturbances of July pushed back the time for this to go ahead.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

And then what does the timeline look like from September?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong><\/p>\n

If we can get the board agreement, then we can get at some of the other organisations\u2019 advance and get us some money until the tranche comes through. But more than that, it will inspire investor confidence. We speak to some other countries, too. The main issue thereafter is debt sustainability. First, we have to tackle this with the major official donors, then for the first time, you\u2019d have to go to the London Club [of private creditors].<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

What will determine whether the agreement happens?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

There are some outstanding issues. Debt sustainability, the criteria we have given, some of the incentives of taxation.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

You\u2019ve been very complimentary in the press about India\u2019s assistance. How sympathetic have the other bilateral creditors been?<\/p>\n

RW: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Many of them are but they\u2019re saying first go to the imf. They felt that Sri Lanka just allowed this crisis to happen. I think there will be more assistance once we get the imf agreement.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Are you encouraged by the agreement between China and Zambia?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, but it\u2019s for a low-income model, and we are in a middle-income country.
\nTE: <\/p>\n

Moving on from economics, there\u2019s been a lot in the Indian press in the last couple of weeks, not only about the Chinese ship that is supposed to dock at Hambantota but also the Pakistani ship that\u2019s supposed to dock or has docked in Colombo. Now Sri Lanka obviously cannot entirely align itself with one or another big Asian power. But how do you manage that balance of competing interests from big powerful neighbours?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s becoming more difficult now, especially after Ukraine and the agreement between Russia and China. You could see the pressure building up on the European side. And in particular my worry is that this rivalry can come into the Indian Ocean. We\u2019ve so far kept out the power rivalry from the Indian Ocean. But I think we have to face up to that situation and work with everyone. Sri Lanka, of course, has a special relationship with India where we have to look after each other\u2019s interests. But most countries in the Indian Ocean want to stay out of the power rivalry. So we have to be clear about that and say what our policies are.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

So you think the rhetoric we see in the Pacific and the South China Sea, you think the Indian Ocean is perhaps the next venue for that sort of thing?<\/p>\n

RW: <\/strong><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t want that to happen. For instance, now, Nancy Pelosi on her own has created a crisis [in Taiwan]. I don\u2019t think the US government has been happy, but they had to back her up. We don\u2019t want any of that happening here. We see India as the net security provider in the area. And then all other countries can also be present as long as it doesn\u2019t lead to rising tensions or increase the rivalry between states.<\/p>\n

TE: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Are there lessons for other countries in how you\u2019re handling this?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

There\u2019ll be something to learn from what we have done and from what we haven\u2019t done.<\/p>\n

TE: <\/p>\n

In the past few months Western publications have written that Sri Lanka could be the first of many countries to default. In the same vein, given the conditions of 2022, what lessons do you think there are for other countries to avoid some of the same mistakes made in the past few months and years economically?<\/p>\n

RW: <\/p>\n

There are many lessons. For instance, you can\u2019t subsidise items every day, you will run out of money. Second, the balance of trade. That\u2019s the big issue for all of us, because we have greater disadvantages on the balance of trade compared to bigger economies like China and India. We have people leaving the country. We have to put our economy in order to attract investment, but for different reasons: the reason to go to Bangladesh is quite different from the reason to come to Sri Lanka. What I\u2019ve learnt is that for the smaller economies in the region, you want to go to the IMF on time, be careful about the foreign debt that you run up. Basically governments have to make hard decisions if they want to prevent default.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

On the subject of making the economy more competitive, who do you see as your peers, or indeed your influences or competitors?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

We would like to be like Singapore, but let\u2019s start by emulating the standard of Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.<\/p>\n

TE: <\/strong><\/p>\n

In terms of what you were talking about earlier, making decisions to make the economy more competitive, cutting the debt and deficit, all of these are going to be painful decisions. How do you intend to take Sri Lankans with you after this period of political unrest?<\/p>\n

RW: <\/strong><\/p>\n

You have to be honest about what is happening, and how much money are you setting aside for the vulnerable people? I mean, people realise it\u2019s bad, they just want to get out of it, you can assure them that you can get out quickly then it\u2019ll be harder for a time. But get them out quickly is what we have to do, and there is hope. And you can\u2019t just reject what the government does if you can\u2019t offer a solid alternative.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

But how will you deal with it if there\u2019s renewed hostility or protests once people realise just how bad things are and how hard they\u2019re going to get? How much do you worry about that?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I worry especially on food. People need food, we don\u2019t want them to go hungry. The middle class was expanding and now we\u2019ve got to make cuts in their living standards, with people who were above the poverty line falling below it, we have to give support to them in the shortest possible time. We have to dispose of some state assets and have that money in our reserves.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

But it\u2019s a hard message, isn\u2019t it? I mean, after everything over the past six months, 12 months, to tell people, \u201cYou know what, things are going to be even tougher now for a little while\u201d?<\/p>\n

RW: <\/strong><\/p>\n

People know that, I mean, basically, we tell them the truth, tell them that we are going through a hard time.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

What\u2019s your experience been when telling people about this?<\/p>\n

RW: <\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been losing some elections.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

With soe restructuring, in particular, the unions have been very hostile.<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

I don\u2019t worry about unions, what matters is people. People are going to stand it if they think things can get better.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the things the previous government did was pretend things were not so bad. And of course, people are not idiots. They knew things were bad, and they came on to the street. Is it perhaps a hope that by being honest to people by saying, \u201cLook, I\u2019m going to level with you, this is what\u2019s happening,\u201d that will persuade them that there\u2019s no point protesting, because that\u2019s just what things are?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I hope so. And also we are looking at other political issues, at getting in the changes to the system that they want, to discuss those, to open up the political system.<\/p>\n

TE: <\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve started to develop quite warm relationships with the military. That\u2019s not really something that people have been used to about you, can you talk us through that?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

I don\u2019t have warm relations with the military at all. As president and minister of defence I have certain functions. The only time that I did something out of the way was to give those certificates to the air mobile battalion that safeguarded parliament. <\/p>\n

Tomorrow I\u2019m going to the handing over of the Dornier aircrafts by the Indians to us in the National Defence College, as the president. And the air mobile battalion is something I started in 1993. So I was quite happy to be amongst them. I go to the Security Council, which I have to do once a week. Other than that, some of the events I\u2019m going to are just ones the president has to attend.<\/p>\n

TE: <\/strong><\/p>\n

So you wouldn\u2019t say there\u2019s been any change in your relationship with the military?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

No, just that one time I gave certificates to the people who protected parliament. If the parliament went, there would have been chaos in the country. And I wanted to give a message that the soldiers have done their duty. Now the MPs must do their duty too.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

The Dornier thing tomorrow is really interesting because again, it\u2019s Sri Lanka doing this balancing act. On the one hand there\u2019s this ship in Colombo, there\u2019s that ship in Hambantota and then the president is going and accepting surveillance aircraft from the Indians. Am I interpreting this correctly as balancing?<\/p>\n

RW: <\/strong><\/p>\n

We have been involved with India in the Colombo dialogue on the maritime security of this area. And this is a part of extending the Sri Lankan reach by having maritime surveillance aircraft. The Dornier is being given by India to train our people but we\u2019ve been working alongside them. The problem now is the shortage of fuel. Our navy has not been able to operate at full capacity. There\u2019s a similar operation that we are carrying on with Australians on the boat people. We are intercepting a large number every week, I go to the defence ministry when people come in, it\u2019s 40, 50, 60 people every week who try to get from here to Australia. So, we are working with both India and Australia.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Why did you decide to keep the defence ministry as part of your portfolio?<\/p>\n

RW: <\/strong><\/p>\n

The defence ministry is basically held by the president and I took it over so that we could stabilise and establish law and order. But I think we also have to make a lot of changes in the defence structure. And we are talking about defence [in] 2030, and have it embedded from then onwards. It\u2019s a part of the restructuring and modernisation we have to do.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

So what are the defence priorities for Sri Lanka?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Firstly, to help the police, civil power to maintain security here. Secondly, we are looking and then working with India, Australia on the maritime side. But we are also looking outward, we are in Mali now and expanding our role in the un peacekeeping forces. In Mali we\u2019re doing quite well. So we can expand that, see if we have a future there. But we also have to contain the defence budget.<\/p>\n

TE: <\/strong><\/p>\n

On the defence budget, that\u2019s one of the possible areas where you might need to make cuts. How are you going to do that?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

I think that\u2019s for the secretary of defence and the others to work out.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the subject of terrorism, one of the things you said while you were prime minister is about asking British intelligence to do a full proper inquiry about the 2019 Easter bombings.<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Yes, British intelligence is involved in these inquiries about the Easter bombings. There are so many issues that have been raised. And we are talking to the UK to get help to do a final review. We don\u2019t have their theories of what\u2019s happening.<\/p>\n

TE: <\/strong><\/p>\n

So the idea is to do an authoritative final one and put that to rest?<\/p>\n

RW: <\/strong>
\nYes.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just to go back to the adjustments in the negotiation process with the imf. So you\u2019re going to resume negotiations at the end of the month. And then hoping to get the staff level agreement some time in September? And how is that going? Are you already speaking to the various creditors, bilateral, private etc?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019re talking to official creditors. I will be writing to the private creditors, maybe some time this week.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

And what are you asking them to do?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

We\u2019re informing them on the situation.
\nTE:<\/p>\n

Do you have a prediction to make: at what point does Sri Lanka return to, say, 2018 levels of prosperity? What can Sri Lankans look forward to?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Maybe about 2024, 2025? Initially we thought 2024 but it looks like 2023 is going to be a bad year globally, so it can be 2024, 2025.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

And for Sri Lankans, will 2023 be a better or a worse year than 2022?<\/p>\n

RW: <\/strong><\/p>\n

I would say the beginning will be tough. But the ending will be better, we\u2019re trying to reduce the period of pain. If the revenue keeps coming in, we\u2019ll know in the next three months, then the end will be better.
\nTE: <\/p>\n

Are remittances picking up?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

A little. But it may get better next year, and there\u2019s the prospect of tourism returning too. We\u2019re trying to get the tourists starting this winter and prices will be cheap. But from next year onwards, we have to get the summer and the winter. This year, the attraction will be prices. I hope that prices won\u2019t be the attraction next year.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

To come back to our very first question, what are the concrete steps you took between coming in and now for things here in Colombo to at least look like they have improved?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

It\u2019s picking up now because with all the turbulence economic activity could not take place. Those economic activities are now taking place. We\u2019ve had quite big festival crowds, people are feeling free and they\u2019re moving around. So they are feeling quite relaxed, more secure. But the turbulence was here. What happened here was originally very nice. I mean, young people protesting, saying the president has to go home. But at some stage they got taken over, they got pushed out. And many of them have spoken to me because they could not take on the more violent crowds. So we restored order here, and we\u2019ve closed that place. We are now preparing another place where young people can go, maybe in a month\u2019s time hope that we can get it ready.<\/p>\n

TE: <\/strong><\/p>\n

As in, a designated protest site?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah for anyone, people who want to come and perform, similar to the site they had here earlier in April and early May.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the initial days after you became president, we met some of those people in front of the building here. They were convinced that you were somehow representing or protecting the Rajapaksas. How do you deal with that sort of perception amongst these people?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I worked with President [Chandrika] Kumaratunga. I contested in the previous election [in 1999]. And in the [2001] election, I won parliament so we worked together for two years, then the whole thing came apart. Next time I went along with President [Maithripala] Sirisena, who was from another party but we carried him through. We had our own problems. So I have a habit of working with presidents who are on the other side when the situation arises. And there are some ministers who have done the same thing from both sides. And I came in because the situation was so bad, and we had to handle it economically. And I was not even the first choice, they offered it to Sajith Premadasa, the leader of the opposition. He didn\u2019t want to take it, so I came in and tried from that time to bring about a broader based government.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some of the laws you\u2019re going to bring to parliament are going to cause a lot of pain for people. Are you confident you can push them through?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

We have already said that if you don\u2019t want the IMF, you must come up with alternative plans.<\/p>\n

TE: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you foresee at some point in the 2020s or perhaps the 2030s a future President Rajapaksa?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

I can\u2019t speak to the future.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Did you think you\u2019d become president?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t think that my house would be burnt, so, you know…<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Was it a fair exchange, do you think?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong><\/p>\n

No.<\/p>\n

TE: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you feel that still\u2014you\u2019re strong politically, but emotionally?<\/p>\n

RW:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course you feel it when you go home and you don\u2019t have books to read, or music to listen to.<\/p>\n

TE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mr Wickremesinghe, thank you very much for your time.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:The Economist<\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.economist.com\/asia\/2022\/08\/16\/an-interview-with-the-president-of-sri-lanka<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We (The Economist) interviewed the president of Sri Lanka in Colombo on August 14th 2022. This transcript has been edited for length and clarity. The Economist: Thank you very much for taking the time to see us, Mr Wickremesinghe. The last time we were here was three weeks ago, when it was obvious that this …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘\u201cIt\u2019s not worth dragging this out.Take a deep cut, but ensure that you can get recovery going. So\u2026when you make changes, make it deep, make all the changes you have to make and then allow it to come up\u2026\u201d- President Ranil Wickremesinghe in Interview with \u201cThe Economist\u201d’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79051"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=79051"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79129,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79051\/revisions\/79129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=79051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=79051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=79051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}