The Hon. Harshana Suriyapperuma

¶ 01 Madam Chairperson, we have explained this. Let me clarify again, simply. On 19 September — two days before the Presidential Election — a MoU was signed and notified internationally, indicating the Government’s pathway. The MoU means that, among numerous stakeholders — countries, institutions, and many creditors — the Government agreed on the path to proceed. Secondly, under comparable treatment, some MoUs and final agreements had already been signed by the previous Government with certain parties. The hard decision before the new Government was whether to violate that and go another way, or to proceed to create the foundation for growth and stability. Considering the people’s hardships and our growth agenda, we decided to go forward on that path.