Minister Herath’s Full Speech: At the 58th Regular Session of the UNHRC in Geneva.

 The Government says it is firmly and sincerely committed to working towards a unified Sri Lanka that respects and celebrates the diversity of its people with no division or discrimination based on race, religion, class and caste. 

“We will not leave room for a resurgence of divisive racism or religious extremism in our country,” Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said on Tuesday (25). 

He also said '' Sri Lanka aims to make domestic mechanisms credible within constitutional framework''.

Minister Herath made these comments while delivered a statement at the High-Level Segment of the 58th Regular Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva February 25, 2025 . 

Video: Speech in English

Minister Herath’s Full Speech:

“Mr. President, I wish to congratulate you on your election as the President of this Council.

At the Presidential and Parliamentary elections held a few months ago, the people of Sri Lanka took a progressive decision to elect a new government with a strong mandate to direct the country towards economic, social and political transformation. The results of these elections held in November 2024 bears special significance on several fronts. It reflected a collective and unified voice from people of all regions of the country – North, South, East, West – and of all ethnicities and religions, in support of change and positive transformation. The current Parliament which was formed after the election is one of the most inclusive in our history, with a record number of women, representatives of different communities including two women from the Malayaga community and a visually impaired person being part of the Legislature of the country. This inclusivity represents Sri Lanka’s new path focused on upholding the rights of all its people irrespective of differences based on gender, ethnicity or other grounds. 

I would like to quote from the speech delivered by our President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, at the inauguration of the first session of the Tenth Parliament: “Elections create a contract between the people and us. This bond is formed when we present our policy statements and ideas, outlining how the country’s future should be shaped. People who place their trust in these ideas cast their votes for us. With their votes, the people have fulfilled their part in this relationship by granting us the mandate to govern. Now, it is our turn to fulfil our part by serving the people.”

In 2022, Sri Lanka went through its deepest and most complex social, economic and political crisis since independence. As you know, the impact of the economic crisis gave rise to a humanitarian situation affecting all segments of the population, especially the poorest and the most vulnerable segments of the society. The Government led by President Anura Kumara Disanayake has emerged successful in stabilizing the economy, and we are currently in the process of laying the foundation toward economic transformation and greater economic democratization through fair distribution of opportunities. 

We are acutely aware of the continuing impact of the economic challenges on our people, particularly the most vulnerable, and the government continues to take decisive steps to advance the economic and social rights of the people. In the National Budget for 2025 presented to the Parliament last week, we have committed to take series of measures to extend much needed relief and empowerment to the people including increased allocation for social welfare and security. Significantly, the budget proposals have also made historic allocations for health and education and provide for a series of empowerment measures to vulnerable groups such as women, children including orphaned, disabled or autistic children, estate sector population, students, persons with disabilities and people living in conflict affected or under-developed areas of the country. 

Special attention has been paid to improving the socio-economic conditions and address critical needs such as resettlement, housing, compensation and infrastructure development in the conflict-affected Northern and Eastern Provinces. 

The Government has been actively working to develop infrastructure, support livelihoods and promote industries in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, aiming to enhance connectivity and support regional development. 

With the launch of the “Clean Sri Lanka” project by H.E. the President on 01 January 2025, the Government has taken steps to introduce a new political culture and commitment to moral and ethical governance. The ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ programme is a holistic undertaking aimed at nation-wide efforts of environmental, social, and governance initiatives to bring about change, integration, and collaboration, in environment, social and governance structures. 

In line with the mandate given by the people, the Government will prioritize integrity and addressing issues of mismanagement and corruption that were at the root of the economic collapse, in taking our country towards sustainable development. Through digital transformation of government structures at all levels, we hope to ensure that inefficiency and corruption will be minimized. 

The Government led by President Anura Kumara Disanayaka is firmly and sincerely committed to working towards a unified Sri Lanka that respects and celebrates the diversity of its people with no division or discrimination based on race, religion, class and caste. We will not leave room for a resurgence of divisive racism or religious extremism in our country. The fundamental and longstanding principles of democracy and freedom enshrined in our Constitution will be fully respected and safeguarded while protecting the human rights of all citizens. Every citizen should feel free to practice their religion, speak their language, and live according to their cultural values without fear or discrimination. No one should feel that their beliefs, culture, or political affiliations will make them targets of undue pressure or prejudice. Administrative, political and electoral processes will be activated towards this end.

The Government has pledged to take tangible steps in the interest of further advancing national unity and reconciliation. The President has proposed to declare a Sri Lanka Day, in line with our vision for a reconciled Sri Lanka and commitment to bridging gaps between communities. We will ensure that the domestic mechanisms and processes established to address challenges emanating from the conflict will continue their work in an independent and credible manner within the Constitutional framework. Domestic institutions such as the Office on Missing Persons (OMP), Office for Reparations, and Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR) will be strengthened. 

The contours of a truth and reconciliation framework, will be further discussed with the broadest possible cross section of stakeholders, before operationalization to ensure a process that has the trust of all Sri Lankans. Our aim is to make the domestic mechanisms credible and sound within the constitutional framework. This will include strengthening the work towards a truth and reconciliation commission empowered to investigate acts of violence caused by racism and religious extremism that give rise to tensions within Sri Lankan society.  

Video: Speech in Sinhala

A number of confidence building measures have also been taken in the last few months towards reconciliation. In November 2024, a number of roads in the Northern Province including the Palali- Achchuveli main road were opened for public use after several decades. The President, during his visit to the North in January this year, made an open invitation to Tamil-speaking youth to be part of Sri Lanka’s police service. The 2025 budget includes significant allocations to upgrade the libraries throughout the country, including the historical Jaffna library which is a symbol of education and enlightenment for the Tamil community. 

The Government is fully cognizant of the responsibility that accompanies the people’s mandate, including the people of the Northern and Eastern provinces, to fulfill their aspirations for a just, fair and prosperous society for all our citizens. As we move forward on our path towards national unity and reconciliation and inclusive development, the continued encouragement and support of the international community will be important.  

Sri Lanka is an active member of the United Nations since 1955. We are a State Party to all the 09 core UN human rights instruments and engage with Treaty Bodies and regular mechanisms of this Council on a regular basis. In the past few years, we have received over 10 Special Procedures and engaged productively with Treaty Bodies, most recently with the CEDAW Committee, ICCPR and the Universal Periodic Review process. We are committed to genuine dialogue and cooperation in human rights through continuous and constructive engagement.     

Conflict, inequality, and extreme climatic conditions are driving millions into poverty daily, while countless men, women, and children continue to suffer or perish in wars across the globe. Addressing these critical challenges is essential to protect human rights and safeguard our planet for future generations.      

Sri Lanka stands ready to support the Human Rights Council in addressing these pressing global challenges in a balanced and holistic manner in line with its founding principles of universality, impartiality, objectivity and non-selectivity. We believe that States must be encouraged and empowered to address their challenges through robust national human rights frameworks, supplemented by assistance upon request. .

As a nation on the trajectory towards people-led and people-centric national transformation and as a responsible member of the international community, Sri Lanka will continue to work in a constructive spirit of dialogue and cooperation with the members of the United Nations including this Council within our national legal framework. 

Thank you.”

ஐ.நா காவடி 2025: புதிய ஈழப் புரட்சியாளர்கள் அறிக்கை.

ஏகாதிபத்திய தாச ஐ.நா.பாதையை நிராகரிப்போம்!

ஜனநாயகத் திட்டத்தில் ஈழப்புரட்சியை முன்னெடுப்போம்!!

ஒடுக்கும் சிங்கள தேசத்தின் ஆளும் கும்பல்கள் 30 ஆண்டுகளாக தொடுத்துவந்த ஈழப்போரை, ஐ.நா வில் பிரதிநிதித்துவம் செய்யும் அனைத்து நாடுகளின் ஆதரவோடும், தலைமை நாடுகளின் இராணுவ உதவியோடும், ஐ.நா வின் ராஜதந்திர பக்கபலத்தோடும் முள்ளிவாய்க்கால்ப் பிரளயம் மூலம் மே 18 2009 இல், நிறுத்தியது.

எந்த ஏகாதிபத்திய, இந்திய விரிவாதிக்க, சீனத் தலையீட்டு, அமெரிக்க உலக மறு பங்கீட்டு நலன்களுக்காக இத் தேசியப் படுகொலைக்கு ஐ.நா.துணை போனதோ-குருதி உறையுமுன்னமே, பிணம் தின்ற நாய்களின் கடைவாயில் நிணம் ஒட்டிக்கொண்டிருந்த போதே அந்த மயானத்தைப் பார்வையிட்ட ஐ.நா.தலைவர் பான்கி மூன் அங்கு கொல்லப்பட்டவர்கள் ஆக பத்தாயிரம் பேரே என அறிக்கையிட்டு அதை அதிகார பூர்வ சர்வதேச சமூக வெளியீடாக மாற்றினாரோ, அவரும் அந்த சபையும்- அதே கூட்டு நலன்களின் பாற்பட்டு அத் தேசியப் படுகொலைக்கு -`இறுதிப் போரில் இடம்பெற்ற மனித உரிமை மீறல்கள்`- என (பெயர் சூட்டின) வரையறை செய்தன.

அது முதல், இந்த வரையறை உலக நியமம் ஆகி, ஊடகப் பிசாசுகளால் பரப்பப்படுவதான உண்மை  என்றாகிவிட்டது!

இவ்வாறே முள்ளிவாய்க்காலைத் தொடர்ந்து ஈழ தேசிய விடுதலைப் புரட்சி இயக்கத்துக்கு வடிகால் அமைத்து, முள்ளிவாய்க்கால்ப் புரட்சிக்கனலை நீர்த்துப் போகச் செய்து, நிர்மூலமாக்குவதற்கான உபாயமாகவும் இது பயன்படுத்தப்பட்டு வருகின்றது.

தேசியம் புறந்தள்ளப்பட்டு `மனிதம்` உயர்த்திப் பிடிக்கப்படுவது உலகளாவிய போக்காக மாறிவிட்டது.

அரசியல் அதிகாரம் சார்ந்த அனைத்து வர்க்கப் போராட்டங்களும் மனித உரிமைப் பிரச்சனைகளாக மகுடம் தரித்துக் கொண்டுள்ளன.புரட்சி வெறும் சீர் திருத்தமாக மாற்றப்பட்டுள்ளது.இது ஏகாதிபத்திய கோட்பாடும், திட்டமும் ஆகும்.இதைச் செயலாக்கும் வாகனங்களாகவே ஐ.நா.வின் இலட்சோபம் NGO படைகள் இயங்குகின்றன. 

இதனடிப்படையில் இந்த மனித உரிமைத் திருவிழாவுக்கு அரோகராப் போட, தேசியப் புரட்சியின் எதிரிகள், எகாதிபத்திய தாசர்கள் ஓரணி சேர்ந்தது தர்க்க ரீதியானதே.

அது முதல், 2025-2009 = 16 ஆண்டுகள்,வருடா வருடம் ஐ.நா சபைக்கு மனித உரிமை விடாய் எடுக்கும்போது, உள்ளக வெளியக இனத்துவக் கும்பல்கள் காவடி எடுத்துவருகின்றன.

மெழுகு வர்த்திப் போராட்டங்கள் நடத்துகின்றன. சந்து பொந்துகளில் உந்துருளி ஓடுகின்றன!

விசித்திரமாக இந்த வருடமும்; எந்த நியமும் இன்றி எல்லா நியமங்களையும் மீறி இஸ்ரேல் நடத்திக்கொண்டிக்கும் பாலஸ்தீன தேசிய நிர்மூலத்துக்கு எதிரான தீர்மானங்களை, ஒருவர் மாறி ஒருவர் எதிர்த்து வாக்களித்து முறியடித்துக் கொண்டு, மறுபுறம் உக்ரைன் போர் நிறுத்தத்துக்கு அனைவரும் ஏகமனதாக வாக்களித்து, ஐ.நா.வின் ஏகாதிபத்திய சாரத்தை உலக உழைக்கும் மக்களுக்கு அம்பலமாக்கி ஐ.நா நிர்வாணமாக நின்ற - இந்த வருடமும் வெட்கம் மானம் சூடு சொரணை இன்றி  இந்த மனித உரிமைத் திருவிழா அரங்கேறி வருகின்றது.

காணாமல் ஆக்கப்பட்டோரைக் கண்டடைய முன்னின்று போராடும் ஈழத் தாய்மார்களின் கூட்டிற்குள் புகுந்து அவர்களது கைகளில் அமெரிக்க,ஐரோப்பியன் யூனியன் கொடிகளைத் திணித்த கொழும்புத் தரகன் கஜேந்திர குமார் பொன்னம்பலம் இன்னும்-பாலஸ்தீன படுகொலைக்குப் பின்னும் அந்தக் கொடிகளைத் திரும்பப் பெறவில்லை.

காணாமல் ஆக்கப்பட்டோரைக் கண்டடையும் போராட்டம் ஈழ தேசத்தின் ஆன்மாவை உலுக்கும் தேசியப் பிரச்சனை பற்றியதாகும். யாரை எதிர்த்து யாரை அணி சேர்த்து இப்போராட்டத்தை நடத்தவேண்டும் என்கிற ஜீவாதாரமான பிரச்சனையில் சந்தர்ப்பவாத பொன்னன் கட்சியின் தவறான வழி காட்டுதல்தான் மூவாயிரம் நாட்களாகியும் அந்தப் போராட்டம் ஒரு வெகு ஜன இயக்கமாக மாறாததற்கு காரணம் ஆகும். இவ்வாறு தான் இச் சைக்கிள் கட்சி மாணவர்களையும் திசை திருப்பி வருகின்றது.

வழக்கம் போல இந்த ஆண்டும் இத்திருவிழாவின் விவாதப் பொருள் உள்ளகமா? வெளியகமா? என்பது தான்!

ஒரு வேறுபாடு என்னவென்றால் இந்தத் தடவை ஒடுக்கும் போர்க்குற்ற சிங்கள தேசத்தின் ஆட்சியாளர்கள் மாறியிருக்கின்றார்கள்.

நேரடியாக அரசியல் அதிகாரத்தைக் கையில் ஏந்தி யுத்தத்தை நடத்தியவர்கள் அல்லாமல், அவர்களுக்கு பக்க பலமாக, மறைமுகமாக, தத்துவார்த்த ரீதியாக போரை ஆதரித்து பிரச்சாரம் செய்து, படைக்கு ஆட் சேர்த்து, பதுங்கு குழிகள் வெட்டிய  துணைக் குற்றவாளிகளான ஜே.வி.கும்பல் அதிகாரத்தைக் கைப்பற்றி இருக்கின்றது.ஆட்சி அமைத்திருக்கின்றது.

இன்று (25) ஜெனீவாவில் நடைபெற்ற ஐக்கிய நாடுகள் மனித உரிமைகள் பேரவையின் 58வது அமர்வில் உரையாற்றிய இலங்கை வௌிவிவகார அமைச்சர் விஜித ஹேரத்: 

``எமது குறிக்கோள் காணாமல் போனோர் அலுவலகம், இழப்பீட்டு அலுவலகம், தேசிய ஒற்றுமை மற்றும் நல்லிணக்கத்திற்கான அலுவலகம் போன்ற உள்நாட்டு நிறுவனங்களை வலுப்படுத்துவதன் மூலம், அரசியலமைப்பு சட்ட வரம்புக்குள், உள்நாட்டு பொறிமுறைகளை நம்பகமான மற்றும் வலுவான நிலைக்கு கொண்டுவருவதாகும்". எனக் கூறியுள்ளார்.

இந்த அலுவல் அகங்கள் அனைத்தும் இவை ஆரம்பிக்கப்பட்ட ராஜபக்ச ஆட்சிக்காலத்திலேயே பாதிக்கப்பட்ட மக்களால் முற்று முழுதாக நிராகரிக்கப்பட்டவை. மேலும் இந்த 16 ஆண்டுகளில் அவை எதையும் சாதிக்கவில்லை. இவை அனைத்தும் சிங்களத்தின் (தரகுமுதலாளிய, பெருந் தேசியவாத,பெளத்த மதவாத அரசின்) அழுக்கு முகங்களே ஆகும். இதை வலுப்படுத்துவது அநீதியை வலுப்படுத்தவே உதவும்.

விஜித ஹேரத் ``அரசியலமைப்பு சட்ட வரம்பு'` பற்றிப் பேசுகின்றார்.

இலங்கையின் முதல் ஆங்கிலேய காலனித்துவ சோல்பரி அரசியல்யாப்பு பொன்னம்பல `சேர்-Sir' களும், சேன-நாயக்கர்களும் ஏற்றுக் கொண்ட ஒப்பந்தம் ஆகும்.

1972, 1978 யாப்புகள் ஈழ தேசத்தின் அங்கீகாரம் பெற்றவையல்ல. எல்லாவற்றுக்கும் மேலாக 1978 யாப்பின் 6வது திருத்தம் ஈழ தேசத்தின் சுய நிர்ணய உரிமையை மறுக்கின்றது. பிரிந்து செல்லும் உரிமையை தடை செய்து சட்டவிரோதமாக்கியுள்ளது.

இதன் விளைவாகவே `ஈழ அரசியல்`  வன்முறை வடிவத்தை எடுத்தது. உள் நாட்டு யுத்தமாக வளர்ந்தது.

இந்த யுத்தத்தில் இழைக்கப்பட்ட குற்றங்களுக்கு, இதே அரசியலமைப்பு எப்படி நீதி வழங்கும்?

ஆக இறுதியாக, அதிகார பீடத்தில் அமர்ந்ததும் ஜே.வி.கும்பல் காற்றில் பறக்கவிட்ட தேர்தல் வாக்குறுதிகளின் பட்டியலில் ` போர்க்குற்ற நீதி` ப்பிரச்சனையும் இணைந்துவிட்டது.

இந்நிலையில் ஈழதேசிய விடுதலைப் புரட்சிக் கனலைத்  தணியவைக்கும், ஏகாதிபத்திய, இந்திய விரிவாதிக்க, சீனத் தலையீட்டு, அமெரிக்க உலக மறு பங்கீட்டு நலன்களை, சக்திகளை எதிர்த்து, தேசிய ஜனநாயகத் திட்டத்தில் ஈழ விடுதலைப் புரட்சித் தீயை அணையவிடாது பிரகாசிக்கச் செய்வதே எமது புரட்சிகர அரசியல் கடமையாகும்.

அதற்காக அணிதிரளுமாறு இளைய தலைமுறையினருக்கு அறைகூவல் விடுக்கின்றோம்.

இலங்கை எம் தந்தையர் நாடு! ஈழதேசம் எம் தாய் வீடு!!

இறுதி வெற்றி ஈழ மக்களுக்கே!

புதிய ஈழப் புரட்சியாளர்கள்.

ஈழம்                                                                         26-02-2025

தொடர்புக்கு: eelamnewsbulletin @gmail.com

Sri Lanka foreign debt service US$2.4bn in 2025, US$2.1bn in 2026

Sri Lanka foreign debt service US$2.4bn in 2025, US$2.1bn in 2026

Monday February 24, 2025 ECONOMYNEXT

Sri Lanka’s debt service in 2025 is estimated at 2,454 million dollars made up of 1,369 million dollars in capital repayments and 1,085 million dollars in interest, Deputy Minister of Economic Development Anil Jayantha has said.

In 2026, principal payments are 1,191 million dollars and interest 931 million dollars.

In 2027, principal are 1,196 million dollars and interest 893 million dollars.

In 2028, principal are 2,133 million dollars and interest 974 million dollars.

Under the International Monetary Fund program, projections were made in a June 2024 IMF report, of 7,184 million dollars for 2025 and going up to 15,105 million dollars, Minister Jayantha said in parliament, answering a question by opposition legislator Ravi Karunanayake.

The projections would be revised periodically, he said.

The actual reserve collections under the IMF program were contained in a net international reserve target, as a quantitative performance criteria, all of which have so far been met, Minister Jayantha said.

Net international reserves are gross reserves less reserve-related liabilities.

In Sri Lanka, the central bank borrowed dollars heavily from various sources including the International Monetary Fund, India and local banks to mistarget a policy rate through inflationary open market operations.

Over the past two years the central bank had settled its borrowings from Bangladesh and some of the loans from the Reserve Bank of India and the IMF.

There have been calls for parliament to ban the ability of the central bank to borrow foreign exchange through swaps and lose them by targeting a policy rate.

Related Central bank swaps symptomatic of Sri Lanka’s IMF return tickets and default

Under fixed policy rate, a central bank offsets forex reserve sales by printing money into banks, preventing rates from going up via inflationary open market operations. The new injections prevent reserve money, bank rupee reserves and credit from going down in step with dollar outflows.

At the height of the crisis in 2024, the central bank’s net reserves dipped to a negative 4.6 billion US dollars.

They returned to positive territory a few months ago, amid deflationary open market operations.

Analysts had warned that under a single policy rate, which tends to involve an abundant reserve regime (excess liquidity generated from domestic assets) the central bank could trigger forex shortages and more crises as mid-corridor rate targeting did from 2015.🔺

Charting the rise of Germany’s far-right AfD party

 EXPLAINER

Charting the rise of Germany’s far-right AfD party

The AfD doubles its share of the vote from 10.4 percent in 2021 to 20.8 percent, becoming Germany’s second largest political party

By Hanna Duggal 24 Feb 2025 AJ

In a historic shift in Germany’s political landscape, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has surged to become the second largest party in the Bundestag, winning 20.8 percent of the vote in federal elections.

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) was the biggest vote-getter on Sunday, winning 28.6 percent alongside its sister party, the Christian Social Union. The CDU has ruled out forming a coalition with the AfD, which presents a challenge in creating a stable government.

The AfD has articulated several key policies, which have proved popular with many German voters. They include:

• Immigration controls, including the rejection of asylum applications and “remigration” initiatives that would deport foreign nationals
• Economic overhauls, such as abandoning the euro and reintroducing the German mark
• Foreign policy changes, such as leaving the NATO alliance
• Reversing energy transitions, such as dismantling existing wind turbines and returning to nuclear energy

Who is the AfD leader Alice Weidel?

Alice Weidel, a former finance professional with a doctorate in economics, joined the AfD in 2013 and quickly rose to leadership posts. Initially a eurosceptic party, the AfD shifted towards nationalism and strict immigration policies with Weidel at the forefront.

Weidel capitalised on voter frustration, particularly in the former East Germany, by opposing immigration, green energy policies and globalisation. Using social media and high-profile interviews, including with tech billionaire Elon Musk, to expand her influence, Weidel’s “remigration” and nationalist policies have garnered her and the AfD attention.

AfD co-leader and chancellor candidate Alice Weidel waves a German flag
at the AfD party headquarters in Berlin, Germany, on February 23, 2025,
after the German election results showed her party doubling its share of the votes
[Michael Probst/AP Photo]

How has the AfD performed in the past?

The party’s electoral gains mirror rising dissatisfaction among voters on migration, the economy and mainstream parties.

Initially formed as a eurosceptic party, the AfD secured 4.7 percent of the votes in its first federal elections in 2013, falling below the 5 percent bar required to enter the Bundestag.

In the 2017 federal elections, the party gained 12.6 percent of votes and entered the Bundestag with 94 seats. It was the third largest party in the German parliament, its popularity driven by then-Chancellor Angela Merkel’s 2015 refugee policy, which allowed more than a million asylum seekers into Germany.

While still performing strongly in eastern Germany, the AfD’s vote share dropped in the 2021 elections to 10.3 percent, making it the fifth largest party in the Bundestag. The party struggled to maintain its anti-immigration rhetoric with concern at the time focused more on the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Sunday’s elections, the AfD doubled its vote share from 2021 as the election campaign focused on immigration and the economy.

Where did the AfD perform best?

In Sunday’s elections, the AfD won votes in almost every single German constituency.

Historically, the AfD performs well among voters in eastern Germany due to post-reunification disparities that have emerged as the east has lagged behind western Germany in economic development and employment opportunities.

The AfD has also done well off the back of its antiestablishment rhetoric with mainstream political parties less deeply rooted in eastern Germany due to its communist past.

In a couple of western German constituencies, the AfD won but was only marginally ahead of the second most popular parties in those areas.

That said, the Left party has also found success in eastern Germany despite declining support in recent years. The Left evolved from the Socialist Unity Party, which ruled East Germany until reunification in 1990 and has stronger ties to older voters there.

Will the AfD be part of Germany’s coalition?

Mainstream parties have ruled out forming a coalition with the AfD because of its nationalist policies and far-right tendencies. As such, Germany’s coalition options are now limited essentially to one, given the voting results.

A grand coalition including the CDU, the CSU and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) is the most likely option with CDU leader Friedrich Merz as chancellor.

______________________

NOW: Trump and Macron hold joint news conference

 

video

From CNN staff

US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron are holding a joint news conference Monday after their bilateral meeting earlier this afternoon in the Oval Office.

The two leaders also participated in a call with G7 summit leaders.

Macron’s visit to the White House today comes on the third year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. European leaders are rushing to try to reclaim a central role for themselves and for Ukraine after they were cut out of US-Russia talks on ending the war.🔺

Germany's AfD, Left win enough seats to block changes to debt brake

By Maria Martinez and Christian Kraemer FebruSummary

Summary

• Far-right, far-left parties win third of seats in election
• Means they can try to block increased defence spending
• Investors cheer conservatives' win, tough coalition talks ahead
• Business leaders urge swift formation of new coalition

BERLIN, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Left Party jointly secured one third of seats in the new parliament, enough to block a loosening of Germany's debt brake - a mechanism some investors and political parties say stymies economic growth.

The euro and German stocks rallied as investors welcomed the strong likelihood of a conservative-led coalition following Sunday's election, while German business leaders called for the swift formation of a new government, saying Europe's largest economy could not afford to waste any time as companies suffer from high costs, red tape and rising foreign competition.

Markets are now focused on the chances of reforming or scrapping the debt brake. This mechanism limits budget deficits to 0.35% of gross domestic product, though that excludes top-ups of the special fund for defence or creation of any new fund.

However, both the AfD and the Left oppose military aid to Ukraine, and with their new-found strength in the Bundestag lower house they could veto increased defence contributions.

Leaders of the Left Party said on Monday they supported a reform of Germany's debt brake but on condition that this was not used to hike defence spending.

"We have to invest in social infrastructure, and if that doesn't happen, then we won't vote for it either," said party co-chief Ines Schwerdtner. "We will not vote for rearmament."

Germany's outgoing parliament still has the majority needed to reform the debt brake before a new coalition is formed but such a move by the current assembly is "unrealistic", Finance Minister Joerg Kukies told Reuters in an interview on Monday.

"First of all, there's far too little time, and secondly, it would also be a questionable political signal if constitutional amendments were now made with an old majority," Kukies said.

German conservatives under likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz have vowed to move quickly to try to form a coalition after winning the most votes in Sunday's national election.

The most likely outcome is a coalition of Merz's conservative bloc and the Social Democrats (SPD), who came in third, after the AfD surged to a historic second place.

Germany's Ifo economic institute stressed the urgency of forming a new government.

"The German economy is in waiting," said its president Clemens Fuest, after Ifo's business climate index came in at 85.2 for February, flat on the previous month.

INFURIATING TRUMP?

Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg, said the new coalition may struggle to find the fiscal space to raise spending on defence while also easing the tax burden for workers and firms.

"A failure to ramp up military spending could get Germany into deep trouble with its NATO partners," Schmieding said. "By infuriating U.S. President Donald Trump, it could also add to the risk of a U.S.-EU trade war."

Economists said enlisting the cooperation of the Left would prove very difficult for Merz.

"The Left would like to ditch the debt brake. However, its agenda - soak the rich, spend more on welfare and less on defence- is the very opposite of the Merz agenda," said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING.

In order to increase defence spending from the current 2% of GDP to 4%, for example, the federal government would have to cut non-defence spending by a quarter if this were not to be financed by additional debt, said Joerg Kraemer, chief economist at Commerzbank.

Kraemer said a Merz-led government might find that its only politically feasible option is to suspend the debt brake by invoking an "extraordinary emergency situation", which is possible with a simple parliamentary majority.🔺

German election victor Merz plans pivot from US as coalition talks loom

Bar chart showing the results of Germany's federal election

By Sarah Marsh and Matthias Williams February 24, 2025

Summary

• Opposition conservatives win German election
• Conservative chief Friedrich Merz hits out at US
• AfD scores historic result but far-right party to be shunned
• Coalition talks could last months, leaving vacuum at heart of EU
• Trump: Germany got tired of the no common sense agenda

BERLIN, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Friedrich Merz, set to become Germany's next chancellor after his opposition conservatives won the national election on Sunday, vowed to help give Europe "real independence" from the U.S. as he prepared to cobble together a government.

Merz, 69, faces complex and lengthy coalition negotiations after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) surged to a historic second place in a fractured vote after the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's unloved three-way alliance.

Mainstream parties rule out working with the AfD which enjoyed the endorsement of prominent U.S. figures including Elon Musk, the tech billionaire and ally of President Donald Trump.

Merz, who has no previous experience in office, is set to become chancellor with Europe's largest economy ailing, its society split over migration and its security caught between a confrontational U.S. and an assertive Russia and China.

Merz took aim at the U.S. in blunt remarks after his victory, criticising the "ultimately outrageous" comments flowing from Washington during the campaign, comparing them to hostile interventions from Russia.

"So we are under such massive pressure from two sides that my absolute priority now is to achieve unity in Europe. It is possible to create unity in Europe," he told a roundtable with other leaders.

Merz's broadside against the U.S. came despite President Donald Trump welcoming the election outcome.

"Much like the USA, the people of Germany got tired of the no common sense agenda, especially on energy and immigration, that has prevailed for so many years," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Hitherto seen as an atlanticist, Merz said Trump had shown his administration to be "largely indifferent to the fate of Europe".

Merz's "absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that we can achieve real independence from the USA step by step," he added.

He even ventured to ask whether the next summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, which has underpinned Europe's security for decades, would still see "NATO in its current form".

Following a campaign roiled by violent attacks for which people of migrant background were arrested, the conservative CDU/CSU bloc won 28.5% of the vote, followed by the AfD with 20.5%, said a projection published late on Sunday by ZDF broadcaster.

The AfD, which looks set to double its score from the previous vote, saw Sunday's result as only a beginning.

"Our hand remains outstretched to form a government," leader Alice Weidel told supporters, adding "next time we'll come first."

MERZ'S JUGGLING ACT

Merz is heading into coalition talks without a strong negotiating hand. While his CDU/CSU emerged as the largest bloc, it scored its second worst post-war result.

It remains uncertain whether Merz will need one or two partners to form a majority, with the fate of smaller parties unclear in a way that could jumble parliamentary arithmetic.

Another three-way coalition would likely be much more unwieldy, hampering Germany's ability to show clear leadership.

Chancellor Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) tumbled to their worst result since World War Two, with 16.5% of the vote share, and Scholz conceding a "bitter" result, according to the ZDF projection, while the Greens were on 11.8%.

Strong support particularly from younger voters pushed the far-left Die Linke party to 8.7% of the vote.

The pro-market Free Democrats (FDP) and newcomer Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) party hovered around the 5% threshold to enter parliament.

"A three-party coalition runs the risk of more muddling through and more stagnation unless all parties involved realise that this is the last chance to bring change and to prevent the AfD from getting stronger," said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at banking group ING.

"As long as the new government does not bring significant change, foreign investments will also be held back, weakening Germany's economic outlook."

Voter turnout at 83% was the highest since before reunification in 1990, according to exit polls. Male voters tended more towards the right, while female voters showed stronger support for leftist parties.

CARETAKER SCHOLZ

A brash economic liberal who has shifted the conservatives to the right, Merz is considered the antithesis of former conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel, who led Germany for 16 years.

Merz conditionally supports equipping Ukraine with longer-range Taurus missiles, a step Scholz's government shied away from, and sees Europe as firmly anchored in NATO.

Sunday's election came after the collapse last November of Scholz's coalition of his SPD, the Greens and pro-market FDP in a row over budget spending.

Lengthy coalition talks could leave Scholz in a caretaker role for months, delaying urgently needed policies to revive the German economy after two consecutive years of contraction and as companies struggle against global rivals.

A delay would also create a leadership vacuum in the heart of Europe even as it deals with a host of challenges such as Trump threatening a trade war and attempting to fast-track a ceasefire deal for Ukraine without European involvement. 🔺

அநுர ஆட்சியில் தவறாக பயன்படுத்தப்படும் பயங்கரவாத தடைச்சட்டம்: அம்பிகா சற்குணநாதன்

அநுர ஆட்சியில் துஸ்பிரயோகம் செய்யப்படும் பயங்கரவாத தடைச்சட்டம்: அம்பிகா சற்குணநாதன்

அநுரகுமார திஸாநாயக்க (Anura Kumara Dissanayake) தலைமையிலான அரசாங்கம் பயங்கரவாதத் தடைச்சட்டத்தை தவறாக பயன்படுத்துவதாக இலங்கை மனித உரிமைகள் ஆணைக்குழுவின் முன்னாள் ஆணையாளர் அம்பிகா சற்குணநாதன் கண்டனம் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

குறித்த விடயத்தை அவர் தனது எக்ஸ்தள சமூக ஊடக பதிவில் குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளார்.

அந்தப் பதிவில் குறிப்பிடப்பட்டுள்ளதாவது. கணேமுல்ல சஞ்ஜீவ கொலை சந்தேகநபர்கள் பயங்கரவாத தடைச்சட்டத்தின் கீழ் தடுத்து வைக்கப்படவுள்ளனர் என்ற தகவல் உண்மை என்றால் இது பயங்கரவாத தடைச்சட்டத்தை துஸ்பிரயோகம் செய்யும் செயலாகும்.

கணேமுல்ல சஞ்ஜீவ கொலைச் சம்பவம் பயங்கரவாத சம்பவம் அல்ல, இச் சந்தேகநபர்களை பயங்கரவாத தடைச்சட்டத்தின் கீழ் தடுத்துவைக்க முடியாது.

பயங்கரவாத குற்றமல்லாதவற்றிற்கு பயங்கரவாத தடைச்சட்டத்தை பயன்படுத்தும்போது அது (சாதரண சட்டம் போல்) வழமையானதாக மாற்றப்படுகின்றது.

இது அதல பாதாளத்தை நோக்கிய வீழ்ச்சியாகும்.தேசிய மக்கள் சக்தி அதன் தேர்தல் விஞ்ஞாபனத்தில் பயங்கரவாத தடைச்சட்டம் நீக்கப்படும் என தெளிவாக தெரிவித்துள்ளது. நம்பகத்தன்மை மிக்க புலனாய்வு தகவல்களின் அடிப்படையிலேயே பயங்கரவாத தடைச்சட்டம் பயன்படுத்தப்படும் என ஜனாதிபதி செயலகத்தின் பணிப்பாளர் தெரிவித்தார் என ஒக்டோபர் 29ஆம் திகதி தகவல்கள் வெளியாகியிருந்தன.அரசியல் பழிவாங்கலுக்காக அதனை பயன்படுத்தமாட்டோம்,என அவர் தெரிவித்திருந்தார். ஆனால் இப்போது அது முறையற்ற விதத்தில் செயற்படுத்தப்படுகின்றது என்றும் அம்பிகா சற்குணநாதன் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

அம்பிகா சற்குணநாதன்

Suspects in ‘Ganemulla Sanjeewa’ murder to be detained under PTA

February 20, 2025- adaderana.lk

The Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) has informed the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court that two suspects are currently in police custody in connection with the murder of “Ganemulla Sanjeewa” and that they will be detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) for further investigations.

Accordingly, the court was told that the suspected gunman of the shooting and the driver of the vehicle he used to flee were arrested and will be detained under the PTA for further investigations.🔺

Foreign ministers talk war in Ukraine and other conflicts on last day of G20 meeting in South Africa

 

Foreign ministers and senior diplomats from leading rich and developing countries focused on global conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine war, on the last day of their meeting in South Africa

Michelle Gumede Friday 21 February 2025 The Independent UK

The two-day gathering in Johannesburg of the Group of 20 nations was marked by the absence of a senior U.S. delegation.

South Africa — the first African country to hold the G20 presidency — has tried to downplay this, saying it was “not a train smash” and that crucial deliberations continued in the presence of acting U.S. ambassador Dana Brown.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the gathering aimed to “engage in serious dialogue” against a backdrop of ongoing wars, climate change, and energy and food insecurity.

The United States is expected to take over the G20 presidency after South Africa next year.

After the gathering concluded, South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola told reporters that ongoing conflicts and wars in Africa, the Middle East and Europe are holding back economic development.

“The meeting reiterated that all states must act in a manner consistent with the peoples and principles of the U.N. charter," Lamola said, adding there was agreement to support peace efforts to resolve the war in Ukraine, The Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the conflicts in Sudan and Congo and others.

Lamola confirmed that President Ramaphosa has invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a state visit. The two leaders had previously met on the sidelines of various global platforms.

Lamola openly defended Ukraine's right to have a seat at the table in any peace talks on ending the war.

“We still think that any peace negotiation process should be inclusive and that inclusiveness should then include Ukraine very clearly. And that’s the approach that we will continue to take,” he said.

There were vastly different claims — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in his speech Thursday that Western countries were to blame for the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The top U.K. diplomat, David Lammy, said Russia apparently is not seeking peace.

“I have to say when I listened to what the Russians and what Lavrov have just said ... I don’t see an appetite to really get to that peace,” Lammy said.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said that if Ukraine were to capitulate, that "would set a terrible example for every country in the world that would then be under the threat of predation by its bigger neighbor.”

The U.N.'s economic commission for Africa representative Claver Gatete said global conflicts have implications for African countries, citing the continent's rise in inflation and food prices since Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago.

"It doesn’t matter where the conflict is, it has an impact on Africa,” Gatete said.

South Africa will host the G20 Leaders' Summit in November this year, a gathering that's expected to be attended by G20 heads of state.🔺

Musk’s DOGE says it has saved $55 billion. Not so fast.

Musk’s DOGE says it has saved $55 billion. Not so fast.

A Washington Post analysis found that hundreds of the canceled contracts DOGE listed represent savings of $0 each.

February 22, 2025 By Dan Keating, Andrew Ba Tran, Rachel Lerman and Jon Swaine The WPost

Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service claimed this week to have saved an estimated $55 billion through a combination of layoffs, canceled contracts, lease renegotiations and other actions. But a list that it posted of contracts and leases suggests that number is inflated.

DOGE has pledged to significantly reduce the size of the federal government, both in terms of workforce and spending. Its representatives have been dispatched to more than a dozen agencies to assess programs and work to cut staff. Its rapid actions have drawn criticism from some who say the efforts are hurting essential work.

On its website, DOGE — which stands for Department of Government Efficiency — lists a select group of 1,125 contracts it has canceled, along with a purported $7.2 billion in savings it has reaped. These contract savings account for just 20 percent of total savings from the past month, the office says.

Yet a Washington Post analysis of the contract data found that many of the canceled contracts were already complete, meaning canceling them didn’t yield any money back because they had been fully paid out — and indeed, 417 of the deals on DOGE’s list indicate that they saved $0. Another 51 added up to savings of just under $1 million.

The DOGE website has made several modifications to the data since it went live earlier this week, wiping nearly $9.3 billion from its originally listed savings.

The largest one addressed the cost of a terminated service-disabled veteran-owned management consultant contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Earlier versions of the contract in the FPDS database listed $8 billion, but the most recent version of the contract listed $8 million, which was earlier reported by the New York Times. The DOGE site listed initially the higher, older version of the number. DOGE said in a post on X that it has “always used the correct $8M in its calculations.”

In more than 80 other instances, the DOGE site lists and links to older, modified versions of contracts on the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS), according to a Post analysis. Experts said this could make the overall savings estimate inaccurate.

And at least $1.35 billion worth of listed savings on the site come from a type of contract that lists a maximum payout to enable easier purchases, even though the government often doesn’t wind up paying that full amount. The contracts are known as indefinite delivery vehicles, or IDVs.

In about 50 of those contracts, DOGE counted the full amount as a savings. Some of those contracts also involved money that had already been paid and won’t be recovered even though the contract has been canceled.

“For the vast majority of these contracts, certainly in the first few years, you don’t spend the whole amount,” said Steve Kelman, a professor of public management at Harvard Kennedy School and the administrator during the Clinton administration of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, part of the Office of Management and Budget. “And for some of them you never spend the whole amount.”

A White House official said that, “in many instances,” such contracts do hit their maximum amount, and since the government could be liable for the full total, it is appropriate to count up to that limit.

For example, one contract on DOGE’s canceled list, between the U.S. Agency for International Development and International Development Group, which works on economic development, is listed as saving nearly $655 million. But that is close to the maximum amount the contract could be worth, split among multiple contractors, and there is no way to know whether the limit would actually have been paid. The claimed savings also does not take into account millions that have already been obligated to contractors, according to federal records. (USAID has been an early target for DOGE’s cost-cutting efforts and is in the process of being dismantled.)

DOGE also claims to have made “total savings” of more than $144 million by canceling or renegotiating 97 leases for office space and other real estate used by federal agencies. But The Post’s review found that this claim was inflated.

Sixteen of DOGE’s 20 largest savings on real estate were calculated by assuming that those leases would otherwise have continued for another five years, according to small print on DOGE’s website. But records from the General Services Administration (GSA), which handles government real estate, show that all 20 were already due to expire within the next two years — and most this year. Those 16 leases represented more than $106 million of DOGE’s purported savings on real estate.

Among the four other largest purported savings was $7.1 million for offices used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in Washington. Plans to relocate the bureau have been in the works for years, and DOGE’s website said the lease would terminate as of its “original expiration” date of May 14. GSA records confirm the lease was already due to expire then before Donald Trump entered office. DOGE did not provide further explanation for how it had saved money on the lease. The Bureau of Labor Statistics referred an inquiry to the GSA, which did not respond to a request for comment.

The White House official said savings estimates for leases were based on estimates for what new leases were likely to have cost.

DOGE also said it saved $2.3 million by canceling a lease for parking space in Manhattan used by officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). But in an interview, landlord Gary Spindler told The Post that DHS notified him months before Trump took office that it would not be renewing the lease when it expires in April 2026 due to a relocation. Spindler said he had heard nothing from DOGE about terminating it.

“The lease is in full force and effect,” he said.

GSA records confirm the government is not entitled to terminate the lease before its expiry. DHS referred a request for comment to the White House and DOGE.

DOGE also claimed to have saved $1.3 million on another parking lease between DHS and Spindler elsewhere in Manhattan. Spindler said his firm had received official notice from the government that it would not be renewing the lease when it expires in October. But he expects the agency to continue paying until then.

“They can’t just cancel a lease,” Spindler said. “Just like everybody else, they’re obligated.”🔺

Exclusive: US could cut Ukraine's access to Starlink internet services over minerals, say sources

 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Indian External Affairs Minister
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar Photo: Chinese Foreign Ministry

Restoration of China-India mutual trust, realization of win-win cooperation meet shared expectations of both peoples: Chinese FM

By Global Times: Feb 22, 2025

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Johannesburg, South Africa on Friday local time, during which Wang said the restoration of mutual trust and the realization of win-win cooperation between China and India meet the shared expectations of both peoples, according to a release from Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said that that last year, President Xi Jinping met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kazan, setting the direction for the improvement and development of bilateral relations. Both sides agreed that, as two ancient civilizations and neighboring major countries, China and India should trust, support, and achieve mutual success with each other. 

Following this, exchanges at all levels between the two countries have been steadily resumed, and the special representatives for the border issue have reached a consensus on properly handling specific differences, said Wang.

Wang said that the restoration of mutual trust and the realization of win-win cooperation between China and India meet the shared expectations of both peoples. Both sides should follow the consensus reached by the two heads of state, ensuring that bilateral relations remain on the right track. China is willing to work with India to plan the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, injecting new momentum into the development of bilateral ties.

Jaishankar, for his part, said that the meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi in Kazan provided important guidance provided important guidance for rebuilding bilateral relations. Exchanges between the two countries in various fields have gradually resumed, yielding significant results, according to the release.  

Building mutual trust between India and China is in the interests of both sides. India values the hard-won progress in improving bilateral relations and is willing to work with China to accelerate the restoration of cooperative mechanisms, enhance cultural exchanges, facilitate people-to-people ties, and jointly maintain peace and stability in the border regions, Jaishankar said. 

In today’s world, facing risks of division and polarization, both India and China are members of the G20, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the BRICS, making strengthened international cooperation particularly important. India is willing to enhance communication and coordination with China on these matters, said Jaishankar.🔺

Global Times

Exclusive: US could cut Ukraine's access to Starlink internet services over minerals, say sources

Exclusive: US could cut Ukraine's access to Starlink internet services over minerals, say sources 

By Andrea Shalal and Joey Roulette

February 22, 2025 Reuters

Summary

US negotiators told Ukraine US could shutoff Starlink if minerals deal not reached

SpaceX-owned satellite internet service vital for Ukraine

Zelenskiy says U.S. and Ukraine working on an agreement

WASHINGTON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - U.S. negotiators pressing Kyiv for access to Ukraine's critical minerals have raised the possibility of cutting the country's access to Elon Musk's vital Starlink satellite internet system, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Ukraine's continued access to SpaceX-owned Starlink was brought up in discussions between U.S. and Ukrainian officials after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy turned down an initial proposal from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the sources said.

Starlink provides crucial internet connectivity to war-torn Ukraine and its military.

The issue was raised again on Thursday during meetings between Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special Ukraine envoy, and Zelenskiy, said one of the sources, who was briefed on the talks.

During the meeting, Ukraine was told it faced imminent shutoff of the service if it did not reach a deal on critical minerals, said the source, who requested anonymity to discuss closed negotiations.

"Ukraine runs on Starlink. They consider it their North Star," said the source. "Losing Starlink ... would be a massive blow."

Zelenskiy has rejected demands from President Donald Trump's administration for $500 billion in mineral wealth from Ukraine to repay Washington for wartime aid, saying the U.S. has offered no specific security guarantees.

On Friday, the Ukrainian president said the U.S. and Ukrainian teams were working on an agreement and Trump said he expects a deal will be signed soon.

Musk rushed thousands of Starlink terminals to Ukraine to replace communications services destroyed by Russia after its February 2022 invasion. Hailed as a hero in Ukraine, Musk later curtailed access at least once before in the fall of 2022 as he became more critical of Kyiv's handling of the war.

U.S. lawmakers are divided over Trump's efforts to find a quick end to the Ukraine war and some have raised questions about Musk's rapid-fire efforts to cull thousands of federal workers and shut down Federal agencies.

Melinda Haring, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council, said Starlink was essential for Ukraine’s operation of drones, a key pillar of its military strategy.

“Losing Starlink would be a game changer,” Haring said, noting that Ukraine was now at 1:1 parity with Russia in terms of drone usage and artillery shells. Ukraine has a wide range of different drone capabilities, ranging from sea drones and surveillance drones to long-range unmanned aerial vehicles.

The Ukrainian embassy in Washington, the White House and the U.S. Department of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

SpaceX, which operates Starlink, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last fall, Ukraine floated the idea of opening its critical minerals to investment by allies. This was part of a "victory plan" that sought to put it in the strongest position for talks and force Moscow to the table.

Trump has embraced the idea, saying he wants Ukraine to supply the U.S. with rare earths and other minerals in return for financially supporting its war effort.

Zelenskiy rejected a detailed U.S. proposal last week that would have seen Washington and U.S. firms receiving 50% of Ukraine's critical minerals, which include graphite, uranium, titanium and lithium, a key component in electric car batteries.

Since then a rift has emerged between the leaders, with Trump denouncing Zelenskiy as "a dictator without elections" on Wednesday after Zelenskiy said Trump was trapped in a Russian disinformation bubble, a response to the U.S. president suggesting Ukraine started the war.🔺

Jaffna’s 3axislabs surpasses 100,000 global users with MindMap AI

 Jaffna’s 3axislabs surpasses 100,000 global users with MindMap AI

FT Thursday, 20 February 2025

3axislabs Co-Founders (from left): Prasanth Subendran, Saahithyan Vigneswaran, and Jestan Nirojan Jeyapalan

Records Rs. 60 m revenue by end-2024

Pivots to AI-powered diagramming for future growth

Jaffna-based 3axislabs is expanding its Sri Lankan operations to meet growing international demand for its services. 

Having successfully delivered almost 50 projects to date, for clients in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Finland, and other countries, the firm is planning to increase its staff total to 50 in the near term, while also expanding its offices to accommodate them. Prompted by a surge in the company’s revenues, to Rs. 60 million in 2024, 3axislabs’ growth follows a chaotic spell experienced during its 2021 start in the midst of the COVID-19 era.

3axislabs Co-Founder and CEO Prasanth Subendran said: “After exhaustive efforts hustling to keep afloat during COVID-19, we have now seen substantial year-on-year growth, resulting in our rapid expansion to 15 team members recently. We believe this will continue with our new foray into product development with MindMap AI, a very promising initiative that requires our team to expand again very soon. Additionally, we are also excited about our role in helping create an IT hub in the North, since our US dollar earnings benefit Sri Lanka directly, with about 80% trickling down to staff and suppliers, along with surrounding communities.” Alongside the planned expansion to its service delivery infrastructure, the company has also taken its first steps into product development, with the recent launch of a mind mapping tool utilising generative AI. This note-taking, brainstorming and planning tool, which is aimed at professionals at the initial stages of projects, uses AI to more easily and quickly create a visual mind map to facilitate a better understanding of existing information, also leading to idea generation, etc. 3Axislabs’ MindMap AI has already seen impressive organic growth due to it being quicker and more user friendly than more traditional mind mapping software options, sometimes as much as 10 times faster per user reviews. This AI-powered tool currently receives over 1,500 visits per day purely through organic reach, with about 70 from every 100 visitors eventually signing up. Overall, MindMap AI has quickly grown to over 100,000 registered users, all achieved without paid campaigns. 

“As start-up and tech veterans with over 10 years each in the local eco-system, my co-founders and I have made it our mission to increase high quality IT jobs in the North and East, to help limit the brain-drain from those moving abroad. In fact, we have been very fortunate in attracting IT talent from not just Jaffna, but also Trincomalee, Chilaw, Pollonaruwa, Badulla, Ratnapura, etc. All over, really. And this has helped us establish a highly diversified and experienced team. Further, our close proximity to the University of Jaffna has enabled us to quickly scale- and skill-up when needed, while also giving these graduates the opportunity to stay close to their families. At the same time, our next stage of evolution, as a product development company, is opening up opportunities for potential investors to join us in creating next-gen products like MindMap AI, based on wholly new technologies, which are currently working their way through our go-to-market pipeline,” added Subendran. 🔺

External debt: Sri Lanka’s ‘Enemy at the Gates’

External debt: Sri Lanka’s ‘Enemy at the Gates’

FT Saturday, 22 February 2025

A recent economic discussion program on a major television channel hosted a panel that included two economists, a representative of the SME sector and three Members of Parliament, one of whom is a high-net worth individual, owner of the TV station and a former Presidential Candidate. Over two and a half hours, the conversation took in a myriad of topics related to the economy: monetary policy, money printing, interest rates, taxation, along with the usual accompanying hand-wringing and polite finger-wagging. 

This was an interesting mix of personalities that each represented a specific part of a narrative surrounding what went wrong with our economy and what can we do about it. The economists, Dhananath Fernando – CEO of Advocata Institute and Dr. Kenneth De Zilva, a business cycle economist, operated from two broadly distinctive positions. Fernando insisted that monetary policy stability, the end of fiscal dominance, the independence of the Central Bank, the free-float of the LKR were necessary and timely interventions; De Zilva broadly disagreed and underlying the divergence is essentially a debate about the source of inflation. De Zilva was keen to de-emphasise links between money printing, money supply and inflation, noting that Sri Lanka’s own Central Bank report noted that inflation was driven by supply-side issues and that even the Reserve Bank of India has questioned direct, linear links between money supply and inflation. 

However, despite discussing the IMF, none of the panellists seemed willing to question the program conceptually nor was there any consideration about whether the program and debt restructuring deals will actually deliver a sustainable debt stock for Sri Lanka. There was also very little emphasis on revenue measures overall, what Sri Lanka’s tax structure should look like to relieve as much of the burden as possible from the middle classes and SMEs while maintaining Sri Lanka’s revenue growth momentum. Ideally, policymakers should be shifting the imbalance in the structure away from indirect taxes towards direct taxes, widening the income tax base and formalising the ‘cash-only’ economy. 

The crisis of market access

The Government’s recent Budget maintains some revenue momentum; projected tax revenue of Rs. 4.7 trillion (t) just about meets the IMF tax revenue target of 15% of GDP and growth for the year is projected at 5% but 80% of this growth is attributed to domestic consumption. The Budget also seems to treat importers and exporters the same even though Sri Lanka’s debt sustainability is dependent on foreign exchange inflows.

Brad Sester, an economist previously attached to the US Treasury Department and currently a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, has followed Sri Lanka’s IMF Agreement and Debt Restructuring programs closely. Commenting on the former in a February 2024 article, Sester notes that “The IMF does not explicitly set out the path of Sri Lanka’s external public and publicly guaranteed debt-to-GDP… there is literally no assessment of Sri Lanka’s external debt in the IMF’s debt sustainability analysis and the IMF considers this a feature, not a bug”. Here Sester is referring to the IMF’s Debt Sustainability Analysis Model (DSA), which became a major political talking point in the lead up to the election, with both major contenders questioning the IMF but neither providing an alternative.  

The IMF categorises Sri Lanka as a Market Access Country (MAC), while countries like Zambia and Ghana are considered Low-income countries (LIC); a distinction that radically alters how the IMF’s DSA models perceive the country’s capacity to manage a significant debt stock, specifically an external debt stock dependent on international capital markets. Sri Lanka, Ghana and Zambia had similar Public Debt to GDP ratios; over 100% with high External Debt to GDP as well. The IMF programs for Ghana and Zambia significantly restrict public debt to GDP; Ghana cannot exceed total debt to GDP of 55% and 40% external debt to GDP. Meanwhile Sri Lanka will have public debt to GDP of over 105% in 2027 according to IMF projections.

It is the trajectory of external debt that ought to be concerning; the IMF’s own projections from June 2024: suggest that external debt will be $ 55.6 billion in 2025, rising to $ 58 billion in 2026 and continuing to rise thereafter, reaching $ 65.8 billion in 2029. External debt as a percentage of GDP is projected to be 65.7% in 2026, rising to 68.5% in 2027 and reducing marginally back down to 65% in 2029.  

The trajectory of external debt repayment also reveal the shortcomings of the debt restructuring deal, specifically the decision to include a Macro-Linked Bond (MLB). 

Sester generated the chart which shows Sri Lanka’s debt service obligations based on the debt restructuring term’s ‘Base-Case’ scenario along with the relative ‘upside’ deviations from that base-case.  

In upside scenario 1, activated if Sri Lanka’s GDP averages $ 94 billion from 2025-27, repayments to bondholders increase substantially from 2028 onwards and persist until 2032. Commenting via the ‘X’ platform (formerly known as twitter), Sester noted that it “Sure looks like the bondholders out-negotiated Sri Lanka’s previous Government, and gamed the IMF and the official creditors…”

Over-paying for downside protection

Put simply, Sester contends that “the IMF put Sri Lanka in a bad negotiating position, with a program that low-balled dollar GDP and a debt sustainability analysis that allowed a high level of public debt to GDP”. Sri Lanka’s GDP will likely surpass the $ 94 billion range which will push its bonds to ‘upside scenario 2’ at the very least. This indicates a substantial sweetener for bondholders who will benefit more from Sri Lanka’s GDP growth which, paradoxically, raises debt service and increases the likelihood of debt distress and vulnerability to external shocks. 

In terms of upside and downside protections for both the Sri Lankan Treasury and bondholders, Sester notes that there is an obvious “asymmetry” in that Sri Lanka’s GDP will almost certainly surpass Upside Scenario 1 benchmarks. This creates what Sester calls the underlying risk for Sri Lanka: the MLB’s are fixed payment bonds, once Sri Lanka’s average GDP for the three years between 2025 and 2027 is calculated, there is no longer a variable component. Sester suggests that “Sri Lanka is over-paying for downside protection, and the bondholders have negotiated a deal that is closer to $99b scenario as the real base case…”  

Macro-Linked Bonds (MLBs) refer to what are known as State-Contingent Debt Instruments (SCDIs) that have been around in its current form since at least the late 1990’s, becoming more popular in the early 2000’s as a result of Argentina’s debt restructurings. Global Financial Advisory firm Rothschild and Company represent the international private bondholders and it was Rothschild that pushed for what is essentially a sweetener for bondholders. Partner of Rothschild and Company, Eric Palo wrote an article published on the firm’s website that somewhat extols the virtues of SCDI’s, specifically noting Sri Lanka’s recent agreements. 

Palo states that Macro-Linked bonds were a “novel type of SCDI” that is meant to generate ‘symmetry of treatment’ for all parties involved, something Sester disagrees with as mentioned above. Palo notes that under the IMF’s baseline scenario, Sri Lanka benefits from an upfront debt stock reduction (Principal & PDIs) of approximately $ 3.6 billion”. This is why the baseline scenario assumed is so problematic for Sri Lanka’s debt sustainability project. 

Writing in the Financial Times in May 2024, Sri Lankan economists Thilina Panduwawala and Chayu Damsinghe state that “if debt sustainability really was the priority, then the macro-link bonds would be tied to Sri Lanka’s FX earnings or FX reserves during 2029-2032”. The IMF Program envisions Dollar GDP as the measure for debt repayment capacity for Sri Lanka; the MAC debt sustainability model does not explicitly constrain Sri Lanka’s debt service to revenue, while the LIC debt sustainability model does. IMF programs for both Ghana and Zambia include debt-service to revenue ratio targets. As per the 2025 Budget, Sri Lanka has just under Rs. 3 trillion in debt service (interest payments) for 2025, against a total government revenue of around Rs. 5 trillion. This does not include the Rs. 2.2 trillion deficit which the Government is expected to fund through foreign borrowings.

Another aspect worth noting is that the Sri Lankan Government did not initially envision a restructuring of domestic debt, it was international bondholders that insisted on what was called a Domestic Debt Optimisation (DDO) with the Central Bank stating that the DDO would support the pursuit of the IMFs crucial Gross Financing Needs (GFN) targets. In a September 2023 article in the Financial Times, Sester notes that the DDO “exercise seems driven by a need to reduce the contribution of domestic debt service to the gross financing needs rather than tackle any real vulnerability, instead enabling Sri Lanka to maximise debt service to foreign creditors… the domestic debt optimisation exercise addresses what in effect is a non-existent vulnerability.” 

Lazard, one of two Financial Advisory Institutions engaged by Sri Lanka for the debt restructuring negotiations, released a policy brief titled ‘The 2020-2025 Sovereign Debt Crisis: What have we learnt and what lies ahead?’. This report actually critiques the need for DDOs, stating that restructuring domestic debt “should not be automatic and only implemented i) when a country cannot restore fiscal sustainability by a combination of fiscal adjustment and a renegotiation of its external debt, ii) when the domestic debt problem cannot be reasonably addressed by financial repression with a socially acceptable level [of] inflation, and iii) when financial stability risks are deemed under control”. Sester agrees with this analysis that “domestic debt is not comparable to external debt”. 

Lazard states that external creditors should not seek domestic debt restructurings based on the burden-sharing argument because “there is no robust economic theory that implies that a DDR is beneficial to external creditors”. Yet Sri Lanka agreed to a DDO (no different from a DDR) despite explicitly stating otherwise initially while also agreeing to an MLB that is likely to favour creditors at the expense of the Sri Lankan Treasury.  

The crux of the issue lies with the IMF’s treatment of Sri Lanka’s economy within their MAC framework which suggests on paper that the economy is able to manage a significantly higher external debt stock than its external sector and foreign exchange flows suggest it can realistically sustain. Sri Lanka has never borrowed from the capital markets while having total public debt to GDP over 100%; raising between $ 1.5 billion to $ 2 billion annually from the capital markets starting in 2027/28 per the IMF schedule, seems a tall order for a country with such an under-diversified export sector.  

To summarise Sester’s argument based off his commentary on the ‘X’ social media platform, the IMF’s DSA has done three things that are less than optimal for Sri Lanka’s specific scenario: 

1. The IMF utilised an “entirely fiscal framework” that only explicitly restricts public debt to GDP, not external debt and there is no explicit target for the debt service to revenue ratio

2. “Generous targets for public debt” and foreign exchange (FX) debt service allows Sri Lanka to hold over 100% debt to GDP even beyond 2030 and the IMF expects FX debt service to be 4.5%, something that would have been restricted under the LIC debt sustainability framework.

3. “It was based on a low-balled dollar GDP forecast, which the bondholders immediately noticed”

This GDP forecast was later adjusted upwards while the public debt to GDP target was not adjusted downwards, thereby allowing what Sester calls a “generous payments profile” that disproportionately seems to have benefited bondholders. International Creditors therefore seem to have negotiated a much higher cashflow to the bonds from 2028 if Sri Lanka’s GDP growth outperforms the base-case, which is now the most likely scenario.  

“That’s the rub” notes Sester: “upside 2 has a ton of debt service from 2028 to 2033, and thus requires Sri Lanka to fund itself heavily in the market over that time period ... and do so at debt to GDP levels far higher than Sri Lanka has had in the past”. Has Sri Lanka set itself up for another crash?

(The writer has 15 years of experience in the Financial and Corporate sectors after completing a Degree in Accounting and Finance at the University of Kent (UK). He also holds a Masters in International Relations from the University of Colombo. He is a media presenter, political commentator and Foreign Affairs analyst, invited regularly on television broadcasts as a resource-person. He is also a member of the Working Committee of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).)🔺