Deputy Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe has rejected former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s warning that Sri Lanka could face another economic crisis, insisting there is no reason for the country to go bankrupt again.
Minister Abeysinghe said Sri Lanka’s debt obligations remain at a manageable level and that the country expects to continue servicing its debt while further strengthening its foreign exchange reserves.
He said Sri Lanka paid around US$3.9 billion in debt obligations in 2025 and is expected to pay approximately US$3.7 billion in 2026. Debt repayments are expected to decline to around US$2.7 billion by 2027, he added.
According to the Deputy Minister, data presented by the Central Bank to investors indicates that Sri Lanka has the capacity to continue debt repayments while building up its foreign exchange reserves.
He said reserves are expected to reach around US$8 billion by the end of 2026 and that there would be no difficulty in servicing debt while continuing to strengthen the country’s reserves.
Wickremesinghe had warned that Sri Lanka could face a major challenge after 2028 as debt repayments increase. He said the country would need to build its foreign exchange reserves to around US$15 billion to meet future obligations.
The former President questioned how Sri Lanka would generate the additional US$7 billion needed to increase reserves from the projected US$8 billion at the end of 2026 to the US$15 billion level.
Responding to Wickremesinghe’s comments, Abeysinghe accused the former President of presenting a misleading picture of Sri Lanka’s debt obligations.
He also said foreign remittances, exports, investment and tourism earnings are expected to increase in 2026 compared with the previous year.
“These figures show that there is no reason for Sri Lanka to go bankrupt again,” Abeysinghe said.
