Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Governor, Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe, insists there’s nothing to panic about despite foreign reserves showing a slight decline. According to him, reserves may wobble from month to month, but in the long run, they will keep rising, because forecasts say so.
Dr. Weerasinghe reminded critics that reserves, which once sank to a humiliating US$ 20 million in 2022, have been climbing steadily since then under the IMF’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF). From December 2024 to March 2025, reserves even outperformed ECF projections, he noted proudly.
The Governor admitted that servicing external debt inevitably causes temporary dips, but he reassured that IMF staff reports confirm Sri Lanka’s reserves are on a sustainable growth path. “Short-term declines don’t matter as long as the bigger picture looks green,” he said, framing the slump as just a statistical blip.
Yet for many Sri Lankans grappling with an economy where “long term” promises rarely ease immediate struggles, such optimism rings hollow. Critics argue that playing down monthly declines while leaning heavily on IMF forecasts sounds more like political damage control than economic truth.
Still, the Central Bank remains adamant that Sri Lanka’s reserves will grow steadily, so long as debt repayment, imports, and currency volatility don’t interfere.
