Following is an edited version of the speech delivered by the Foreign Affairs Minister M.U.M. Ali Sabry (PC) at the Cambridge Union in England on 23 January.
I come from Sri Lanka, which, due to its strategic location at the intersection of maritime trade routes and sea lanes, has historically attracted the interest of global superpowers. Prior to gaining independence in 1948, Sri Lanka was under colonial rule for around 500 years. Though the colonial era’s legacy of exploitation and division left an indelible mark on our nation, we cannot disregard its positive contributions, such as introducing democracy, the rule of law, a strong, independent Judiciary, a robust civil service, and essential infrastructure.
At the threshold of independence, it was up to the leaders of the diverse, multicultural, and newly independent Sri Lanka to build on those fundamentals and create a stable, peaceful, and prosperous nation for all its citizens. Democracy is undoubtedly the most desirable form of governance, yet, it has three major inherent challenges to overcome. Firstly, to desist from the temptation to exploit societal differences for electoral gains. Secondly, to resist unsustainable populist economic policies in furtherance of vote-bank politics. Finally, there is the challenge of maintaining basic policy consistency across Government and party lines.
The relative economic and social progress that democracies have achieved globally can be directly attributed to how well the leaders within those countries tackled these three challenges.
Looking back at the last 75 years, as an independent nation, Sri Lanka has worked diligently to ensure the social upliftment of its people. We have addressed the challenges of literacy, nutrition, education, and social welfare, achieving significant progress in these areas. Sri Lanka provides universal free healthcare and free education to all its citizens. Since the universal adult franchise was conferred on Sri Lanka in 1931, we have consistently maintained the peaceful transfer of power, the separation of powers, and an independent Judiciary to safeguard the rule of law.
While we take pride in our achievements, we must also have the humility to accept our failures. We are still a work in progress when considering our most critical aim: forging together the diversity of our people into one coherent and strong Sri Lankan nation. We have faltered along the way in the last 75 years. We have permitted our differences to gain prominence and dominate the social fabric, subsequently failing to nurture the commonalities that bind us together.
Sri Lanka has a vibrant and independent Judiciary, but, much cannot be said of its efficacy and efficiency. As a citizen and a lawyer, I have been constantly troubled by the perennial issue of legal delays, which have plagued the efficient and equitable administration of justice. A routine lack of investment in the legal system, the failure to regularly review and revisit old laws, and the reluctance to embrace technology have been its root causes. For example, by 2019, Sri Lanka had approximately one million cases to be heard by 336 judges in all courts. When divided by the population, this works out to 15 judges for every one million citizens, whereas advanced jurisdictions have a ratio ranging from 40 to 150 judges per million citizens. As the saying goes, justice delayed is justice denied. Law’s delays have a direct negative impact on the rule of law, social cohesion, investment, and the economic advancement of a nation.
“My country, right or wrong, if right, to be kept right, and if wrong, to be set right.” Even though some people find this saying to be controversial, its inner meaning, emphasising the responsibility of a citizen in nation building, has always inspired me.
I was invited to take over the Ministry of Justice, and although politics was not my cup of tea, I saw this as an opportunity to actively overhaul the systems that I had been limited to critiquing from the sidelines.
When I took over as the Minister of Justice, I realised the solution needed to be holistic. I focused on five specific areas: securing sufficient funds for the justice sector, improving the infrastructure of the legal system, embracing technology, particularly digitisation, increasing the number of judges, and the reform of the law covering the areas of criminal law, civil law, and commercial law. In a relatively short period of time, our initiatives resulted in significant success, entailing an increase in the number of judges in courthouses, the introduction of online hearings, and the commencement of the process of amending and introducing over a hundred laws.
In early 2022, while our focus was on judicial reforms, Sri Lanka was facing the worst economic crisis since its independence, and it threatened to completely unravel the nation.
Years of unsustainable populist policies, the accumulation of severe debt burdens, a refusal to make rational and prudent economic decisions, and a lack of political will to meaningfully combat the menace of corruption made this inevitable. External shocks such as Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine hastened the process.
Amidst the rapid depreciation of the Sri Lankan Rupee, inflation was skyrocketing. Foreign exchange shortages curbed the importation of essentials. Long queues for cooking gas and fuel, together with long hours of power cuts never seen in recent history, brought the Sri Lankan public to their knees. They were outraged, and rightly so. Demonstrations and agitations against the Government became an almost daily occurrence, and growing tensions reached a breaking point.
The resulting chaos compelled me to change course and take over the Ministry of Finance. There were no takers for this unenviable job, but, I did not want to abandon my country at one of its most decisive moments in history.
In addressing the Parliament, I decided to take a different strategy. I told the public the uncomfortable truth about our economy, referring to shocking statistical data to highlight Sri Lanka’s deeply troubling financial position. We decided to replace crucial decision-making bureaucrats with technocrats committed to the reform process. We commenced critical negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and other multilateral development banks. We initiated the debt restructuring process to attain debt sustainability and advocated for and introduced cost reflective pricing to ensure an unimpeded supply of essential items.
As unlocking the IMF’s extended fund facility (EFF) was not immediate, the challenge was to secure bridge financing in order to ensure that the economy did not collapse beyond repair. The repurposing of the funds from multilaterals and the support extended by the Government of India at that crucial hour provided us with a lifeline.
While the reforms were taking shape, the public was in no mood to compromise. Continuous agitation and uprisings by the public resulted in President Gotabaya Rajapaksa relinquishing office. The subsequent constitutional process led to Parliamentarian Ranil Wickremesinghe succeeding in his place.
President Wickremesinghe, a seasoned politician with wide-ranging experience, swiftly took control of the situation and adopted a dual strategy. The restoration of law and order and crucial economic reforms were pursued with renewed vigour and purpose.
Upon assuming office, President Wickremesinghe tasked me with taking over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to navigate Sri Lanka’s foreign policy through the tumultuous waters of global power rivalry. This was put to the test due to Sri Lanka’s intricate debt restructuring process, which required assurances from multiple major powers.
As an emerging economy, we pursued an independent foreign policy strategy, reaching out to a diverse spectrum of international allies in both the East and the West.
The West based Paris Club, which includes Japan, India, and China, constantly supported our effort to secure an EFF with the IMF as well as our debt restructuring process required to attain debt sustainability.
We believe that our independent yet multi-aligned foreign policy has helped us navigate these difficult challenges and obtain the support of the larger international community.
Eighteen months later, Sri Lanka’s inflation, which was 70% in September, 2022, had come down to less than 5% in August of last year (2023). The Rupee had stabilised and, in fact, appreciated by about 15% from its peak against the United States dollar ($). Remittances have seen a 60% annual growth in 2023. Tourism has in fact seen an annual growth of 106% in 2023. Usable forex reserves, which were at $ 20 million in April 2022, had gone up to $ 4.5 billion in January this year.
We are not out of the woods yet, but, Sri Lankans have shown tremendous resilience in weathering this very challenging period. If we successfully resist divisive policies and embrace the unity within our diversity, if we continue these difficult yet prudent economic policy reforms, and if we maintain policy consistency across Government and political party lines, Sri Lanka is within touching distance of achieving its true potential.
Let me conclude with the following quote: “A stone is broken by the last stroke of a hammer. This doesn't mean that the first stroke is useless. Success is the result of continuous and persistent efforts”.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.