President promises five percent economic growth in 2026/27 under current economic policies

Sri Lanka would be able to achieve five percent GDP growth by 2026–2027 if the current economic policies continue, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Monday (01) at the opening of the new Air Force headquarters at the Defence Headquarters, at Akuregoda.

The President said that the GDP growth in 2024 would be three percent.

The President added that the GDP growth should exceed eight percent after 2027 to make Sri Lanka a thriving nation.

The President said that in 2023, the government’s revenue had risen to 3.1 trillion rupees (over 9.59 billion U.S. dollars).

That amounted to 12 percent of the country’s GDP, he said, mentioning that by 2026, he hoped to increase government revenue to 15 percent of the GDP.

He said in 2024, the government’s revenue would rise to 4.2 trillion rupees (13 billion dollars), and that was mainly due to amendments to the VAT regime.

Wickremesinghe said that Sri Lanka would become a centre of security and defence in the Indian Ocean and that the Air Force would have a key role to play.