International Conference of SLEA to feature ‘Managing Economic Crisis in Sri Lanka’

Chief Guest Central Bank Governor Dr. P Nandalal Weerasinghe

Keynote Speaker Open University of Sri Lanka Department of Social Studies Prof. Sirimevan Colombage

SLEA President Rev. Prof. Wijitapure Wimalaratana

SLEA General Secretary Dr. Maringa Sumanadasa

Featuring the long tradition of advocating on most vital and current economic issues, the 34th annual session of the Sri Lankan Economic Association (SLEA) is scheduled to be held on 09th and 10th December 2022 through Zoom platform.

Multi-disciplinary panel of speakers will feature in this years’ annual session on the theme of “Managing Economic Crisis in Sri Lanka”. At present, Sri Lankan economy is going through an unprecedented economic crisis in its post independent history. Long run inevitable challenges including fiscal and monetary imbalances, external imbalances including debt servicing issues, weak institutions, policy inconsistency and implementation gaps, and other causal factors were affecting the economy. Moreover, COVID-19 related shocks, international political upheavals, global inflation, rising energy prices, etc. have aggravated this situation.

Despite the uncertainty in the global environment, both advanced and emerging economies are eager to set their policy measures aiming at pre-pandemic growth levels. Once these changes work their way through multiple channels, it would have multiplayer effects on the national economy. In this background, SLEA annual session is being held with an emphasis to consider the potential pathways to overcome economic disturbances.

The inaugural session of the international conference will be held on 09th December. The keynote address will be delivered by Prof. Sirimevan Colombage of the Department of Social Studies, Open University of Sri Lanka and the Presidential address will be delivered by Rev. Prof. Wijitapure Wimalaratana, President of SLEA. Dr. P Nandalal Weerasinghe, Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka will be the chief guest of the event.

The technical sessions, based on four sub-themes, will take place on the 10th of December. Technical session-I is based on the theme of Monetary Policy in Economic Crisis. Key topics and presenters will be: “Monetary Policy and Macro-economic Stabilisation” by Dr. K.G. Harischandra, Director, Economic Research Department, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, “Role of Exchange Rate in Economic Crisis Management” by Dr. Mrs.  Sujeetha Jegajeevan; Additional Director, Economic Research Department, Central Bank of Sri Lanka. The technical session-I will be chaired by Dr. W.A Wijewardena, Former Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the discussants will be Prof. Arusha Cooray, Professor of Finance; James Cook University, Former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Norway Finland and Iceland    and Dr. M. Ganeshamoorthy, Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, University of Colombo.        

Technical session-II is based on the theme of Fiscal Policy Response to Economic Crisis. Key topics and presenters will be: “Fiscal Policy Strategies for Macroeconomic Stabilisation” by Dr. Priyanga Dunusinghe, Head of the Department of IT, Faculty of Arts, University of Colombo, “Managing the Debt Crisis for Economic stability by Dr. R.H. S Samaratunga, Former Secretary, Finance Ministry. The technical session-II will be chaired by Dr. Ramaraju Venuthurupalli, Former Professor of Economics, University of Delhi    and the discussants will be Prof K. Amirthalingam, Department of Economics, Faculty of Arts, University of Colombo and Prof.M K Agarwal, Department of Economics, University of Lucknow.  

Technical session-III is based on the theme of Managing External Sector in Turbulent Times. Key topics and presenters will be: “Policy Strategies for overcoming Balance of Payments Crisis” by Prof Sirimal Abeyratne; Department of Economics, University of Colombo; “Enhancing Foreign Inflows: Policy Perspectives” by Prof. O G Dayaratna Banda; Department of Economics & Statistics, University of Peradeniya. The technical session-III will be chaired by Dr Lloyd Fernando, Chairman, Gamani Corea Foundation and the discussants will be Dr. Shuwen Yan, Lecturer in International Economics, Chongqing Jiaotong Univeristy, China and Dr. Syafriadi Adwan, Director of Government Investment Management, Ministry of Finance, Republic of Indonesia.    

Technical session-IV is based on the theme of Reviving Production and Growth. Key topics and presenters will be: “Resetting Agriculture Policies to ensure food security and promote growth linkages” by Prof Buddhi Marambe of the Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya; “Reorienting Manufacturing Sector to drive economic revival” by Prof Sunil Chandrasiri, Department of Economics, University of Colombo. The technical session-IV will be chaired by Dr. Turab Hussain, Professor of Economics, Lahore School of Mgt Sciences (LUMS) and the discussants will be Prof. Karori Singh, Former Director and Emeritus Fellow, South Asia Studies Centre, University of Rajasthan, India and Prof. J. A. Karunaratne, Former Professor in Economics, Vaasa University, Finland.

The deliberations will encompass deeper insights into prevailing contextual challenges and further recommendations to strategise Sri Lanka’s economic recovery. For more details of the event and for registrations, contact [email protected] or visit https://www.slea.lk.