The Hon. Ruwan Wijeweera

¶ 01 Madam Presiding Member, thank you for the time.

¶ 02 We debate amid one of the most serious wartime crises in our lifetime, expanding daily. With 22 million Sri Lankans’ lives and socio-economic environment at stake, we must act to protect them.

¶ 03 Understanding the nature of this crisis is crucial. The gravity of the Middle East conflict was discussed yesterday on Al Jazeera under the topic “Could the Iran war trigger a global recession?” Points made include: “All eyes are on the Strait of Hormuz. The longer it remains closed, the greater the damage to the global economy. Iran continues to block tankers from shipping close to 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply,” and this disruption is “roughly twice” that of the 1970s energy shock. Big oil shocks historically lead to inflation, stagnation, even recession; oil and gas prices are surging and economies are expected to slow. This is the present reality. We must decide policy accordingly.

¶ 04 The President, in Parliament this morning, clearly set out how we would maintain neutrality and manage this crisis. The Opposition questioned our foreign policy as “unclear and unfair,” and cited the cases of the Iranian naval vessels “IRIS Dena” and “IRIS Bushehr.” At that time, tensions were high. We convened our national security advisors and leadership, and took the best decision under international law and our treaty obligations, putting our people first. We rescued 82 survivors and brought back 84 bodies from the first vessel incident. The world’s attention focused on us; our handling—then declining entry to “IRIS Bushehr” in line with security advice—was globally appreciated as a sovereign, dignified decision.

¶ 05 Yet Hon. Kabir Hashim claimed we acted wrongly and suggested potential issues under International Humanitarian Law, attempting to recast the matter. We regret such statements at such a time. The Hon. Leader of the Opposition claimed that if we had maritime domain awareness agreements, the US should have informed us of any attack on the Iranian vessel—this misreads modern, largely undeclared warfare; states do not telegraph such strikes.

¶ 06 On tourism, he alleged inattention. In fact, we have: - introduced a special QR fuel system for tourism vehicles and hotel operations; - doubled normal vehicle fuel quotas for eligible tourism entities; - introduced dedicated fuel for hotel generators; and - granted priority access for independent tourists upon passport/visa presentation. Committees and guidance have been set up to keep services running.

¶ 07 On vulnerable groups: in a global crisis, fuel and goods prices rise; targeted groups can be hit hardest. Under the President, we have formed an Economic Surveillance Committee bringing together economic and security advisors, meeting daily (sometimes twice) to monitor and act.

¶ 08 Our primary goal is to preserve the hard-won stabilization since 2025 and keep essential services—health, airports, ports—functioning properly, while advancing necessary measures.