Anura Dissanayake running to stay in the same place

President of Sri Lanka Anura Kumara Dissanayake addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly. File | Photo Credit: AP Sri Lanka’s President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who completed two years in office in late September, has not achieved anything spectacular so far, but he has brought stability to his country and continuity in policy on the economic front. Even under normal circumstances, economic stability is important for any country and more so for Sri Lanka, where the 2022 economic chaos and the popular uprising - Argalaya - preceded Mr. Dissanayake’s election in September 2024.The President, to his credit, did not disturb the stability as worked out by his predecessor Ranil Wickremesinghe with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s assistance, despite his party, the leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP or People’s Liberation Front), and its allies having campaigned strongly for re-negotiation of the IMF’s package. The presence of many inexperienced persons in Dissanayake’s 24-member Cabinet has not come in the way of the government adhering to the commitments given by the previous regime. Published - October 30, 2026 08:49 pm IST