Lanka stays neutral amid Iran conflict: Harini

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya has said wars, including the ongoing conflict involving Iran, serve no one’s interests, stressing that Sri Lanka’s priority is to preserve regional peace, safeguard its maritime security and stay out of the conflict while managing its economic fallout.

Speaking to CNN, she said Sri Lanka had maintained a neutral position on the conflict, while remaining particularly concerned about the possibility of hostilities spreading to the waters surrounding the island.

Given Sri Lanka’s strategic maritime location, ensuring regional stability and preventing the conflict from spilling into its territorial waters remained key priorities, she said.

However, Sri Lanka had not been spared the economic impact, with rising energy costs placing additional pressure on an economy still recovering from its worst economic crisis in decades.

On the country’s economic recovery, Amarasuriya said Sri Lanka was “doing remarkably well” considering the challenges it had faced over the past several years.

She attributed the progress largely to improved fiscal management, adherence to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, efforts to curb corruption and waste, and improvements in governance.

The Prime Minister acknowledged that the Government had initially been reluctant to implement the IMF programme but later recognised that it could work with the international lender to stabilise the economy.

“We didn’t like the IMF programme, but we had to follow it,” she said, adding that while the Government agreed with some of its conditions, its priority had been to ensure economic stability.

Amarasuriya said Sri Lanka had reached a more stable position after two years of implementing the programme. However, she noted that recent international developments had highlighted the economy’s continuing vulnerability to external shocks.