In his first annual budget speech since taking office in July, Wickremesinghe, who is also the nation’s finance minister, told parliament that the IMF’s proposals had only been taken into consideration to stabilise the economy.
In order to receive an IMF bailout package to aid the country in recovering from its worst financial crisis in decades, Colombo included deficit-reducing measures in the budget.
The island’s 22 million inhabitants are finding it difficult to pay for imports of necessities like food, fuel, and medical supplies due to rising inflation, a declining currency, and limited foreign exchange reserves.
Wickremesinghe set many medium-term goals for the administration, including raising international trade’s share of GDP by more than 100 percent, growing exports by $3 billion annually for the next ten years, and bringing in $3 billion in foreign direct investment.
