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Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India, marking his first overseas visit since taking office in September, AP reported on Dec. 16.

India, Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka's Dissanayake Makes First Overseas Visit to India

The International Monetary Fund and Sri Lanka reached a staff-level agreement on the third review of the country's $2.9 billion bailout, Reuters reported on Nov. 23. 

Sri Lanka: New Government Reaches Staff-Level Agreement With IMF

Sri Lanka's Election Commission announced that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's leftist National People's Power Party won a two-thirds majority in Parliament, securing 159 out of 225 seats in the snap parliamentary elections held on Nov. 14, Reuters reported on Nov. 15.

Sri Lanka: President's National People's Power Party Secures Landslide Victory

A high-level team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is set to arrive in Sri Lanka on Oct. 2 to meet with the new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to discuss Sri Lanka's economic developments and reforms, The Business Standard reported Oct. 1.

Sri Lanka: IMF to Meet Sri Lanka's New President on Economic Reforms

Sri Lanka's newly appointed President Anura Kumara Dissanayake dissolved Parliament effective midnight on Sept. 24, scheduling parliamentary elections for Nov. 14, News First reported on Sept. 25.

Sri Lanka: President Dissolves Parliament, Calls for Snap Elections

On Sept. 23, Anura Kumara Dissanayake was sworn in as Sri Lanka's president following the presidential elections held on Sept. 21, Nikkei Asia reported on Sept 23. 

Sri Lanka: Dissanayake Sworn in as Sri Lanka's President After Sept. 21 Elections

Sri Lanka's government announced that it reached an agreement in principle on debt restructuring terms with the Ad Hoc Group of Bondholders, the Local Consortium of Sri Lanka and the China Development Bank, NewsFirst reported on Sept. 19. 

Sri Lanka: Government Reached Agreement in Principle With Bondholders

Sri Lanka's electoral commission accepted 39 applications for the Sept. 21 presidential election, a record-high number of candidates, including incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe, Al Jazeera reported on Aug. 15.

Sri Lanka: 39 Candidates To Run in Presidential Election

Assessments

Angola

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Taiwan

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U.S. President Joe Biden and President Joao Lourenco of Angola on Nov. 30, 2023, at the White House. Biden on Dec. 2-4 will visit Angola, where he will focus on the Lobito Corridor project that aims to refurbish and expand railways connecting critical mineral-rich regions in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo with the Angolan port of Lobito.

U.S.-China Relations

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Biden Visits Angola, von der Leyen's Second Term

Iran

Bangladesh

Pakistan

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (R) and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) arrive for a joint press conference at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India, on Feb. 25, 2020.

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

While U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will maintain many of the outgoing Biden administration's overarching policies toward South Asia, bilateral relationships will grow increasingly transactional.

What Trump's Second Term Means for South Asia

A session is held in Sri Lanka's Parliament in Colombo on Aug. 20, 2020. 

Global Elections

The ballot could bolster the new president's ability to enact his socialist agenda, though it may also yield a hung parliament that leads to more government instability.

Previewing Sri Lanka's Parliamentary Elections

Israel

Palestinian Territories

Japan

A ballot is cast in front of the Japanese flag. On Nov. 11, the country will select a prime minister and convene an extraordinary session of its bicameral Diet.

Israel-Hamas Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: Japan Selects a Prime Minister, Trump's Shadow Looms Over COP29

Anura Kumara Dissanayake (center) gestures as he leaves the office of Sri Lanka's Election Commission in Colombo on Sept. 22, 2024, following his victory in the country's presidential election. 

President Dissanayake's left-wing agenda will run up against IMF commitments and an opposition-controlled parliament, raising the risk of a snap ballot that could reshape the island nation's political landscape.

What Challenges Lay Ahead for Sri Lanka's New President?

Lebanon

Germany

The site of an Israeli strike on Sept. 19 in the southern Lebanese border village of Mahmoudiyeh. Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah will continue to intensify in the next week.

Social Issues

The Weekly Rundown: Escalating Israel-Hezbollah Conflict, the Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Differing views on the country's agreement with the IMF and austerity measures, social issues involving Tamils and Muslims, and balancing relations with India and China heighten the risk of social unrest, delays in financial support, and uncertainty in economic planning and reforms. 

Sri Lankan Presidential Candidates Face an Electorate Upset by the Economy

2024 Elections: Sri Lanka 

Sri Lanka's Sept. 21 presidential election will pit four candidates against one another, portending various political and economic risks.

2024 Elections: Sri Lanka

(From left to right) Peter Breuer, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission Chief for Sri Lanka, speaks next to Krishna Srinivasan, the Director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department, during a press conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on May 15, 2023. 

The IMF will likely approve the next tranche of Sri Lanka's $2.9 billion bailout. But if Colombo fails to reach a deal with its bondholders in the coming months, future disbursements may be at risk.

What's at Stake As Sri Lanka Struggles To Restructure Its Debt

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters building is seen in Washington, D.C. 

To keep the country's economic recovery on track, Colombo will likely seek to unlock the delayed next tranche of its bailout package by enacting more reforms, though this risks public backlash.

What's Next for Sri Lanka After Its Failed IMF Review?

Media

Graphics

A man enters a foreign currency exchange shop in Islamabad, Pakistan, on July 11, 2023.

Inflation remains high in several South Asian countries amid political and economic constraints on reform.

Inflation Rates Across South Asia

Maldives

International Monetary Fund representative Rahul Anand (center) speaks during a press conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Nov. 9, 2022. 

Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives all face varying degrees of financial and economic risks in the years ahead unless they enact far-reaching (and politically unpopular) reforms.

Where Are South Asia's Most Vulnerable Economies Headed?

The island of Sri Lanka lies twenty miles off the southeastern tip of India. Slightly smaller than Ireland, the country sits at the center of the Indian Ocean, just northeast of the Maldives island chain.     Sri Lanka is divided into two geographic zones.     The southwest of the island is Sri Lanka's core. It consists of the inland Central Highlands, flanked to the west by Colombo's seaside lowlands. This area receives most of the island's rainfall and is the country's agricultural heartland, producing rice for food consumption and its cash crops: coconut, tea and rubber. It also contains the island's gem and graphite deposits. Colombo has a deep natural harbor, which receives substantial traffic from nearby shipping lanes.      The northern part of the island is divided into the inland Vanni region and the Jaffna Peninsula on Palk Bay. The north is dry and agriculture is only possible because of large, ancient reservoirs. Fishing is the primary economic activity. The north is connected to India by a chain of islands and sandbars known as Adam's Bridge, which has historically eased the movement of goods and people to and from the mainland.      Sri Lanka's main geographic challenge is to protect its core around Colombo, while promoting integration with the north. The most recent challenge to Colombo's dominance was from the Tamil Tigers insurgent group, who used the Vanni region and Jaffna peninsula regions as bases to mount terrorist attacks. Uniting the north with the core will allow Colombo to take advantage of low-end manufacturing leaving China, using its underdeveloped north as a source of cheap labor.

SITUATION REPORTS

India, Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka's Dissanayake Makes First Overseas Visit to India

Sri Lanka: New Government Reaches Staff-Level Agreement With IMF

Sri Lanka: President's National People's Power Party Secures Landslide Victory

Sri Lanka: IMF to Meet Sri Lanka's New President on Economic Reforms

Sri Lanka: President Dissolves Parliament, Calls for Snap Elections

Sri Lanka: Dissanayake Sworn in as Sri Lanka's President After Sept. 21 Elections

Sri Lanka: Government Reached Agreement in Principle With Bondholders

Sri Lanka: 39 Candidates To Run in Presidential Election

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