The Hon. Anuradha Jayaratne, Attorney-at-Law

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, we need immediate, medium-term, and long-term measures. First, we must reduce and rationalize energy consumption. I appreciate the President’s decision to allow private bunkering and storage to support tourism—an immediate, correct step. However, we must also recognize a serious issue with coal at Lakvijaya Power Plant. Due to low-quality coal, we may be forced to revert to more expensive fuel for power generation. If the Government is unable to ensure uninterrupted power due to constraints in fuel procurement and supplier issues, then I propose we consider one- to two-hour power cuts—better than risking a repeat of 2022’s severe outages.

¶ 02 Regarding tea, yesterday’s auction proceeded without issues and even fetched higher prices given demand; however, this may not persist. Iran is among our main tea markets, as are Arab countries. Any disruption would directly hit primary producers in tea-growing areas. The Government must monitor and support the sector.

¶ 03 On remittances, over a million of our migrant workers are in the Middle East. If the conflict escalates, remittances may be affected. Tourism remittances in 2025 were US$ 3.2 billion, but are now declining as groups bound for Dubai are diverting to countries like Spain; fewer transits through hubs like Dubai and Qatar could reduce arrivals to Sri Lanka. If airports in the region or flight operations are disrupted, our tourism industry will face severe challenges.

¶ 04 Therefore, we should diversify short-term fuel supplies beyond the Gulf—source from other countries to maintain continuity. Given reserves around US$ 6.8–7.0 billion, our spending should prioritize essentials like medicine and food.

¶ 05 Food security is paramount. Any delay in importing urea and fertilizers will impact the next cultivation season. The declaration of Wednesdays as holidays is acceptable; however, in the longer term, work-from-home must be advanced with digitalization, if fuel supplies remain constrained, to conserve limited stocks for critical needs. At the same time, we should accelerate renewable energy and leverage our Indian Ocean location to enhance ports and logistics.

¶ 06 Finally, SriLankan Airlines faces a significant opportunity if regional routes are constrained for others. Do not hand strategic aviation leadership to private interests with conflicts. Strengthen SriLankan to capture available opportunities. Thank you.