Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that, in the face of the turbulent global environment prevailing today, agriculture is confronting significant challenges, and that food security is a crucial factor affecting a country’s stability, sovereignty, and national security.

The Prime Minister made these remarks on 28of April at Waters Edge, Battaramulla, while addressing the National Youth Agripreneur Showvase and B2B connect Conference organised under the Smallholder Agribusiness Partnership Programme (SAPP), funded jointly by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Government of Sri Lanka. The programme aims to empower rural youth to engage in agribusiness ventures.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister further stated:

I commend the organisers for successfully conducting this event despite the various challenges faced by the country.

You are playing an important role in both the agricultural sector and the national economy. I am happy to witness talented agri-entrepreneurs such as yourselves.

Food security, founded on agriculture, directly impacts a nation’s national security. Concepts such as ’Grow and Sell’ contribute significantly to strengthening the production economy.

During the COVID crisis, as well as amidst the current conflicts in the Middle East, it has become evident that if countries lack food security, their economies become vulnerable. Even a minor decision taken by leaders can disrupt supply chains.

Climate change also poses serious challenges to agriculture. When climatic and environmental conditions become difficult to predict, agriculture itself is threatened. In such a context, your contribution as agri-entrepreneurs goes beyond earning an income. It is also a direct contribution to the nation’s food security and, consequently, to national security. Your talents and innovations are important not only to yourselves, but to the people of the country as a whole.

The Prime Minister also expressed gratitude for the support extended by institutions such as IFAD and SAPP, and conveyed best wishes to the country’s creative entrepreneurial youth.

The occasion was attended by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation K.D. Lalkantha; Deputy Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Chathuranga Abeysinghe; Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation D.P. Wickramasinghe; Additional Secretary of the Ministry Lathisha Priyanthi; Director of SAPP Sunimal Chandrasiri; and several other distinguished guests.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya visited and paid homage to the historic sacred city of Kataragama on 26 April.

Following the visit to the sacred Kataragama Kiriwehera Rajamaha Viharaya, the Prime Minister visited the Chief Incumbent, the Chief Sanghanayake of Ruhunu Magampattuwa, Venerable Kobawaka Dhamminda Nayaka Thero, and received blessings and engaged in religious observances at the historic Kiriwehera premises.

Subsequently, the Prime Minister attended the evening pooja at the historic Vishnu Kataragama Maha Devalaya. She also received blessings from the Maha Sangha, including the Chief Incumbent of Kataragama Sri Abhinawarama Viharaya, the Chief Judicial Sanghanayake of Ruhunu Magampattuwa, Shasthrapathi Venerable Kapugama Saranathissa Nayaka Thero.

This occasion was attended by the Deputy Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development R. M. Jayawardena, Monaragala District Member of Parliament Ruwan Wijeweera, proprietor of Horana Wasana Bakers Dayananda Bombuwala, Chairman of the Kataragama Pradeshiya Sabha H. M. Herath, and the Basnayake Nilame of the Ruhunu Maha Kataragama Devalaya, Arachchige Thilina Madushanka, along with several others.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

The “Avurudu Gathering,” organized by the Welfare Association of the Prime Minister’s Office, was held on April 25 at Temple Trees under the patronage of Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister extended New Year wishes to all, hoping for a peaceful and prosperous year ahead. She expressed appreciation for the dedication, commitment, and support rendered in service. The Prime Minister also stated that she wished everyone strength and courage to continue delivering greater service from the Prime Minister’s Office for the benefit of the people.

The “Avurudu Gathering,” organized by the Welfare Association of the Prime Minister’s Office, featured a range of traditional games and cultural performances throughout the day.

The event was attended by the Secretary to the Prime Minister Mr. Pradeep Saputhanthri, Additional Secretaries, officers, and staff of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the new education reforms will be introduced to Grade 6 in 2027, that necessary measures have already commenced to develop Piriven education, and that steps are being taken to formulate a national policy for higher education.

The Prime Minister made these remarks while paying respects to the Most Venerable Thibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Abhidana Mahanayake Thero of the Malwathu Chapter of the Siyamopali Maha Nikaya, following the peace walk which commenced near the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy on April 24.

Speaking to the media afterwards, the Prime Minister stated:

It is a matter of happiness for us as a country that the internationally recognized peace walk is being held in Sri Lanka. At the same time, world peace is a shared aspiration of all of us, and therefore I am pleased to have the opportunity to be associated with this occasion.

While responding to questions raised by journalists, the Prime Minister further stated:

The government is taking the necessary legal action regarding the financial fraud that has taken place. Investigations have already commenced in this regard. International assistance has also been offered for the investigations. In particular, the Government of Australia has informed us of its willingness to support the investigative process, as stated by the Australian High Commissioner.

A democratic country needs an opposition. However, the opposition still seems not to understand what the people expect from it. As a result, they continue attempting to inconvenience the government by raising baseless arguments. They are making false allegations against ministers. They even said they would bring a no-confidence motion against me. I am also waiting for the opportunity to present my facts.

We are continuing the education reform process. We are also working to formulate a national policy for higher education. In addition, a committee has been appointed regarding medical education to carry forward future activities.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

The third day of the “Walk for Peace” pilgrimage, which began from Dambulla to the Gangaramaya Temple in Colombo, commenced this morning (24) in front of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Kandy with the participation of Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and the Maha Sangha of both monastic chapters. The Most Venerable Pannakara Thero, who previously led a 110-day peace walk in the United States from Texas to Washington covering ten states, arrived in Sri Lanka together with members of the Maha Sangha to lead this peace walk.

Prior to the commencement of the third day’s pilgrimage, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and the Maha Sangha, including Venerable Pannakara Thero, paid homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic and engaged in religious observances. Thereafter, the Maha Sangha chanted pirith and invoked blessings from a special platform set up near the Pattirippuwa of the Temple.

The third day’s peace walk, which commenced near the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, will conclude at the Vidyawardhana Pirivena Pothgul Viharaya in Mawanella. The peace walk is scheduled to conclude on April 28.

The occasion was graced by the presence of members of the Maha Sangha of both monastic chapters, and attended by Central Province Governor S.B. Abayakoon, Diyawadana Nilame Nilanga Dela Bandara, public representatives, state officials, and a large gathering of devotees.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya emphasized that care work is central to the functioning of economies and societies and should no longer be treated as a peripheral issue, while addressing the inaugural session of The South-4-Care Learning Hub: Advancing Decent Work in the Care Economy in South Asia, held on April 21 in Colombo.

The four-day regional programme, taking place from April 21 to 24, brings together countries across South Asia for a South-South knowledge exchange and capacity-building initiative organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO), in partnership with the World Bank Group, and in collaboration with the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITCILO). The Learning Hub serves as a regional platform for South-South and Triangular Cooperation, enabling countries at different stages of development to exchange experiences, strengthen capacities, and identify pathways towards building gender-responsive and resilient economies.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister stated that “the care issue, the care economy, is no longer a peripheral issue. It is central to how our economies function and how our societies sustain themselves,” emphasizing that care work, whether domestic work, childcare, elder care, or community support, forms the foundation upon which both formal and informal economies are built. She noted that care work is not simply about providing childcare services, elder care services, or strengthening social protection frameworks, but about recognising how care work, especially unpaid care work, sustains the economy itself.

She further noted that unpaid care responsibilities remain one of the most significant barriers to women’s labour force participation and stressed the need to move beyond defining productive work only in terms of paid labour.

“It is important that women have the choice whether to work in the labour force or not, but we also have to recognise that the unpaid work they do in sustaining families and communities eventually sustains our economy. That is one of the most important factors in the economy which does not get recognised and does not get value,” she stated. She further stressed that “we need to move beyond those categories where productive work is defined only in terms of paid work and really recognise unpaid care work as also productive.”

Prime Minister Dr. Amarasuriya pointed out that Sri Lanka presents a unique context in examining the care economy, where girls perform strongly in education while women continue to face high rates of domestic violence, heavy care burdens, and withdrawal from the labour force due to unpaid responsibilities. She emphasised that this requires a fundamental rethinking of how labour, productivity, and economic contribution are defined, particularly in relation to women’s participation in both informal and unpaid sectors.

“Labour force participation is not simply about productivity, it is about access to opportunity, dignity and inclusion,” she said, adding that no form of work, whether paid or unpaid, formal or informal, should remain invisible, undervalued, or underprotected. She further stated that care work is not only an economic issue but also an intergenerational one, shaping human capital through its impact on education, health, and wellbeing.

She noted that the Government of Sri Lanka, through the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, is currently engaging with relevant stakeholders to develop a national policy on unpaid care work. This consultative process aims to recognise and value unpaid care work as a vital contribution to national development, reduce the disproportionate burden on women and girls through accessible public services and social protection, promote equitable redistribution of care responsibilities across households, communities, the state, and the private sector, and transform the social norms and gender stereotypes that continue to assign care work primarily to women.

The ILO also highlighted that care work, both paid and unpaid, is essential to the functioning of societies and economies, enabling labour market participation, supporting families and communities, and underpinning productivity and economic growth. However, across South Asia, care work remains undervalued and unevenly distributed, with women bearing a disproportionate share, while limited access to affordable and quality care services continues to deepen gender inequalities.

Recognising these challenges, the ILO adopted the Resolution concerning Decent Work and the Care Economy, affirming care as vital labour market infrastructure and calling for coordinated action to ensure access to quality care services while improving working conditions, rights, and protections for care workers.

The Prime Minister expressed confidence that the discussions over the coming days would generate meaningful insights and actionable recommendations to strengthen care systems across South Asia.

Prime Minister’s Media Division