Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya emphasized the urgent need for prompt and decisive measures to address the challenges, barriers, and discriminatory practices encountered by women both domestically and globally.

The Prime Minister made these remarks today (22) while addressing the International Women’s Day celebration organized by the United Nations Office in Sri Lanka, held at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute in Colombo.

During the event, awards were presented in appreciation of women who have achieved significant accomplishments and earned societal recognition in different fields.

Delivering the key note speech, the Prime Minister further stated:

“Equally all women including young female must be protected irrespective of their socio-economic status, educational background, religion, ethnicity, disability, or any other personal identity. Their fundamental rights must be safeguarded. Sri Lanka has a proud history of strong women who have contributed significantly to the development of the nation and I am well aware that many such remarkable individuals are present in this esteemed audience today.

Women are driving transformational change by assuming leadership roles in politics, business, and social initiatives. The government has implemented different policies and programme to empower women. The 2024 Women’s Empowerment Act has laid the foundation for new legal protections and the establishment of an Independent National Women’s Commission leading a significant step toward institutionalizing gender equality.

The government has prioritized increasing the participation of women in workforce by introducing entrepreneurship and digital financial literacy programme for rural women, along with establishing nine ministries for uplifting the economic level of women and the entire nation. Several initiatives were also incorporated into the recently approved budget. Nevertheless, female representation in leadership, decision-making, and economic participation remains disproportionately low. While efforts have been made to create opportunities in education, economic development, and healthcare for women and young female, it is imperative to acknowledge that there are much more remains to be done.

Although the women’s representation in Parliament has been doubled, it remains at approximately 10%. A greater representation of women is essential in political spheres, decision-making, and leadership roles. Currently, women’s participation in the formal workforce with pay is at 32%, which is significantly lower compared to the male counterparts.

Some individuals assert that achieving work-life balance is an unattainable goal for women, while simultaneously expecting them to manage all responsibilities. However, it is important to acknowledge that it is not possible to do everything. What is truly required is the opportunity for women to pursue what they aspire to do, within families and a society that values and respect women. It is imperative to foster an environment that offers greater support for women. In this regard, recognizing and appreciating the caregiving responsibilities undertaken by unpaid women is essential.

Gender-based violence and discrimination remain prevalent in society. Addressing these issues requires urgent legal and social reforms. The journey toward gender equality cannot be undertaken in isolation. As a nation committed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 5 on Gender Equality, it is essential to maintain strong global partnerships and take sincere steps toward the empowerment of women. In a rapidly evolving world, empowering women must go hand in hand with ensuring their active contribution to national development and the United Nations in Sri Lanka continues to serve as a valuable advisor and advocate for women’s rights.”

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya reiterated the importance of implementing effective measures to identify and address the challenges, barriers, and discriminatory practices faced by women both locally and internationally.

The event was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath; Secretary-General to United Nations Association of Sri Lanka Mr. M.M. Rushaudeen; Assistant Secretary-General to United Nations Association of Sri Lanka Ms. Panchali Ratnayake; and several other distinguished guests.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

සංවර්ධන කටයුතු ප්‍රමාද වී ඇති ජල යෝජනා ක්‍රම සහ ප්‍රජා ජල යෝජනා ක්‍රම කඩිනමින් නිම කිරීමට කටයුතු කරන බව අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ආචාර්ය හරිනි අමරසූරිය පැවසුවාය.

ජාතික ජල සම්පාදන සහ ජලාපවහන මණ්ඩලය සංවිධානය කළ ලෝක ජල දින සමරුමට (20) සහභාගි වෙමින් අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරිය මේ බව සදහන් කළාය.

මෙහිදී ජල සම්බන්ධතා ලබා දීම සඳහා නිර්මාණය කළ විශේෂ මෘදුකාංගයක් එළිදැක්වීම අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමියගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් සිදු වූ අතර ලෝක ජල දිනයට සමගාමීව පැවති දීප ව්‍යාප්ත පාසල් නාට්‍ය හා රචනා තරග ජයග්‍රහණය ලැබූ සිසු දරුවන් වෙත සම්මාන හා සහතිකපත්‍ර ප්‍රදානය කිරීමත්, ජලසම්පාදන හා ජලාපවාහන මණ්ඩලයේ මණ්ඩලයීය වෘත්තීයවේදීන් වෙත සම්මාන හා පදක්කම් ප්‍රදානය කිරීමත් සිදු කෙරිණ.

එහිදී වැඩිදුරටත් අදහස් දැක් වූ අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ආචාර්ය හරිනි අමරසූරිය,

"ජල සම්පාදන කටයුතු සම්බන්ධයෙන් සිදු කරන විමර්ශනවලට 2025 වසරේ මංගල අයවැය මඟින් රුපියල් මිලියන 41, 234 ක අරමුදල් වෙන් කිරීමට නිර්දේශ කර තිබෙනවා.

දැනට ක්‍රියාත්මක වන මහා පරිමාණ ජල යෝජනා ක්‍රම සහ ප්‍රජා ජල යෝජනා ක්‍රම කඩිනමින් නිම කිරීම මෙන්ම ආරක්ෂිත ජල සැපයුම් සහතික කිරීමේ ජාතික වැදගත්කම හඳුනාගනිමින් ගම්පහ - අත්තනගල්ල සහ මිනුවන්ගොඩ ඒකාබද්ධ ජල සැපයුම් ව්‍යාපෘතිය, පොල්ගහවෙල - අලව්ව සහ පොතුහැර ඒකාබද්ධ ජල සම්පාදන ව්‍යාපෘතිය, මතුගම සහ අගලවත්ත ඒකාබද්ධ ඒකාබද්ධ ජල සැපයුම් ව්‍යාපෘතිය සහ ආර්ථික අර්බුදය නිසා අදාළ ණය දෙන්නන් විසින් ණය පහසුකම් අත්හිටුවීම හේතුවෙන් නිම කිරීම ප්‍රමාද වී ඇති තඹුත්තේගම ජල සැපයුම ව්‍යාපෘතිය කඩිනමින් නිම කිරීම සඳහාත් මෙවර අයවැයෙන් ප්‍රතිපාදන වෙන් කර තිබෙනවා.

ඒ නිසා ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ පුරෝගාමී කීර්තිමත් ආයතනයක් ලෙස අප රජයේ ප්‍රතිපත්තිය වන ’පොහොසත් රටක් ලස්සන ජීවිතයක්’ යන දැක්ම යථාර්තයක් බවට පත් කිරීමට වඩා ශක්තියෙන් හා ධෛර්යයෙන් කටයුතු කරනු ඇතැයි තමන් විශ්වාස කරන බව අග්‍රමත්‍ය අචාර්ය හරිනි අමරසූරිය පැවසුවාය.

මෙම අවස්ථාවට නාගරික සංවර්ධන, ඉදිකිරීම් හා නිවාස අමාත්‍ය අනුර කරුණාතිලක, තරුණ කටයුතු හා ක්‍රීඩා අමාත්‍ය සුනිල් කුමාර ගමගේ, නිවාස නියෝජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය ටී. බී. සරත්, ජාතික ජල සම්පාදන හා ජලාපවහන මණ්ඩලයේ සභාපති ඉංජිනේරු දීප්ති යූ. සුමනසේකර යන මහත්වරු ඇතුළු පිරිසක් සහභාගි වූහ.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

The Secretary to the Prime Minister, Mr. Pradeep Saputhanthri, participated in the World Bank Group’s Global Digital Summit 2025, held from March 17 to 20 at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C. Under the theme "Digital Pathways for All," the summit brought together global authorities, development partners, private sector leaders, and key stakeholders to explore innovative digital solutions and their role in advancing economic and social development.

The summit provided valuable insights for Sri Lanka’s ongoing digitalization initiatives, which are being spearheaded under the leadership of the President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake. During the high-level discussions, Mr. Saputhanthri engaged with global experts to examine emerging digital technologies and strategies that can drive inclusive and sustainable digital transformation in Sri Lanka.

On the sidelines of the Global Digital Summit, Mr. Saputhanthri held discussions with key officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. He met with Mr. Kenji Okamura, Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, Dr. Krishnamoorthy Subramanian, Executive Director of the IMF, Dr. Krishna Srinivasan, Director of the Asia and Pacific Department of the IMF, and Dr. PKG Harischandra, Alternate Executive Director at the IMF.

During these meetings, Mr. Saputhanthri provided an update on the progress of Sri Lanka’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and expressed appreciation for the continued support of the IMF Executive Board, Senior Management, and Staff following the successful completion of the Third Review under the EFF in February 2025. He reaffirmed the Government of Sri Lanka’s commitment to meeting the forthcoming EFF review milestones. Discussions also covered the government’s ongoing digitalization efforts, aimed at supporting vulnerable communities, improving tax system efficiency, and enhancing overall economic productivity.

Mr. Saputhanthri also held a meeting with Mr. Martin Raiser, Vice President for the South Asia Region at the World Bank, to convey appreciation for the World Bank’s extensive support to Sri Lanka. Mr. Raiser reaffirmed the World Bank’s steadfast commitment to assisting Sri Lanka’s economic recovery and development. The discussions focused on future collaborations to ensure continued financial and technical support for the country’s long-term stability and growth.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that after closely observing discussions on the budget and the criticisms raised by the opposition, it is evident that the system change the people expected is currently taking place.

The Prime Minister made these remarks in Parliament today (20) during the Committee Stage Debate on the Budget.

The Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya further stated:

Throughout the past month, we have engaged in extensive discussions inside and outside of Parliament regarding the first budget of the government and we have met with trade unions, various institutions, and individuals to review their perspectives on the budget.

The proposals and criticisms which have been directed through those discussions have helped in strengthening the budget further.

However, I have observed whether there has been any progress in the statements made by the opposition from the first day of the budget debate to the present day as it is expected certain changes and development over a month of period.

However, when analyzing the content of certain speeches made by the opposition, it became clear that they are still in the same place.

The criticisms centered on the debate seemed to stem from the pain of wounded egos that cannot be resolved through a budget. When closely examining the discussions centered on the budget, it is evident that the system change the government is striving for is indeed taking action.

System change does not occur in one isolated area. It rather alters the power dynamics on the relationships within society. In a true system change, existing relationships are shifted and restructured. When observing who is most affected by this process, it is evident that the system change is taking place.

Many of the criticisms directed at the budget come through those who previously had misused power within the old system for personal privileges. A society organized by such privilege is not a democratic society. The aim of the government is to change the old system. A society where power was unfairly exploited is rejected by almost everyone.

The hardworking individuals, and the entrepreneurs who make fair and responsible investments, with ethical participation are content with this budget debate. It no longer requires them to seek political favors to establish their business projects. They are now granted the freedom to operate independently. Further, it has facilitated them with future planning and prediction.

The public service sector which is recognized now under the present government appreciates these changes. They are received with renewed sense of trust and value. There is a growing number of officials who are content with discharging their duties without being subject to any pressure.

Women, children, persons with disability, community in the upcountry, and many others who were previously marginalized are now receiving the satisfactory relief.

The new economic path for future is opening up, and they can see new opportunities ahead. This budget has provided a new light and a pathway forward for a significant number of the population that had been previously deprived of economic benefits.

The issue of unemployed youth has been widely debated, with accusations that promises have not been fulfilled. However, the reality is that instead of providing jobs that do not match qualifications or aspirations, we are creating sustainable pathways for development. We have already taken steps to generate many job opportunities. Delays in implementation have primarily been due to the chaotic decisions made by previous governments, as well as ongoing legal cases.

Criticism of the budget mainly comes from those who previously used public grievances to gain power and privilege for themselves.

Both public officials and elected representatives have made tremendous sacrifices and worked tirelessly to ensure that no one is left behind when making decisions.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

The "Ingi" choreographical presentation, organized by the Pallekele International Buddhist Academy (SIBA), was held on March 19 at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre with the participation of Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya.

SIBA was established in 2016 under the concept by the Diyawadana Nilame of the Temple of Tooth Relic, Mr. Pradeep Nilanga Dela, with the aim of preserving traditional Sri Lankan dance customs for future generations.

The event was featured by the captivating performances representing Kandyan, Southern, and Sabaragamuwa traditions, combining the array of Indian dance. All performances, including the drumming segments, were presented by students of the Pallekele International Buddhist Academy (SIBA).

The ceremony was graced by the presence of the esteemed Maha Sangha.

The event was attended by a distinguished attendees of Former Presidents, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Members of Parliament, Ambassadors, and Diplomats.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya met with H.E. Dewi Gustina Tobing, the Ambassador of Indonesia to Sri Lanka, at the Parliament of Sri Lanka to discuss strengthening bilateral relations between the two nations.

The discussions focused on enhancing cooperation in trade, tourism, technology, and education, with both sides reaffirming their commitment to fostering diplomatic and economic ties for mutual benefit.

A key area of focus was expanding tourism exchanges, including religious tourism, which holds significant potential for growth.

The two delegations also explored opportunities in trade, particularly the importation of palm oil and the introduction of organic liquid fertilizers to support Sri Lanka’s agriculture sector.

Collaboration in the IT industrywas highlighted as another promising area of partnership, alongside discussions on integrating electric vehicles into Sri Lanka’s public transport system.

The Sri Lankan delegation, led by Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister, Mrs. Sagarika Boghawatta, included officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Indonesian delegation was represented by Deputy Ambassador Mr. Fiki Oktanioand Minister Counsellor Mrs. Lailal K. Yuniarti.

Prime Minister’s Media Division