Shamindra Ferdinando, in The ISLAND, 10 March 2026 …. “Prof. Dunusinghe warns Lanka at serious risk due to ME war”
Prof. Priyanga Dunusinghe has warned that Sri Lanka could face a catastrophic situation due to a rapid and sharp drop in revenue caused by the escalating Gulf war.
Appearing on Derana ‘Big Focus’ yesterday, the Professor in Economics in the Department of Economics, and Head – Department of Information Technology, University of Colombo, Dunusinghe said that that drop in remittances from the Middle East, as well as exports, should be examined against the backdrop of runaway oil prices.
Dunusinghe said so responding to interviewer Pasan de Silva who sought expert opinion on the crisis. Referring to continuing Iranian retaliatory attacks on Gulf countries hosting US military bases, the academic pointed out that approximately one million Sri Lankans were employed in the region.
Global oil prices rose to over $100 per barrel on 08 March, for the first time since the Russia-Ukraine war erupted in February 2022. By noon prices were around USD 115 per barrel.
If a consensus couldn’t be reached soon, the consequences for Sri Lanka would be devastating, Dunusinghe said, suggesting that the government should seriously consider, what he called, a relatively small but immediate fuel hike to cushion the impact of future fuel price hikes.
Dunusinghe explained that in addition to the drop in remittances from the Middle East, Sri Lanka could lose employment opportunities in the war devastated region. Responding to the interviewer, the Prof said that if the situation further deteriorated the government would have to face the daunting challenge of evacuating Sri Lankans from the Middle East.
Referring to the devastating impact of Cyclone Ditwah, Dunusinghe pointed out that in terms of the agreement with the IMF, finalised in 2023, the debt repayment would have to be recommenced in 2028. The new Middle East war has placed the country in an extremely difficult situation, Dunusinghe said, while emphasising the responsibility on the part of the government to address the issues at hand immediately.
The rapidly changing oil markets indicated that regardless of optimism expressed by the US and Israel of swift victory, the ground realities were quite different, the academic said.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
