Sri Lanka to cut military strength amid economic crisis

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - Sri Lanka on Friday announced to slash the military by reducing the number of soldiers after the South Asian nation declared bankruptcy on its foreign debt last year.

“The strength of the military and sustainable economic development are two sides of a coin, which stay together, but never talk to each other in open,” Premitha Bandara Thennakoon, the country’s deputy Defense Minister, said in a statement.

Defending the ministry’s plans to reduce the number of soldiers to 135,000 from the current 200,783 by 2024, Thennakoon said: “Military spending is basically the state borne expenditure, which indirectly stimulates and opens avenues for economic growth by way of assuring national and human security.”

“It has been projected to right size the (military) strength to 100,000 by 2030,” the ministry statement said.

“The overall aim of the strategic blueprint is to broach a technically and tactically sound and well-balanced defense force by the year 2030 in order to meet upcoming security challenges on a par with the national security dimensions of the country,” Thennakoon said.

Crippled by a shortage of foreign exchange reserves after the collapse of the tourism-dependent economy, the country of 22 million defaulted on all its foreign debt last year.

It has been unable to pay for food, fuel, and other necessities, with a fuel shortage causing daily power outages. Schools have been closed and government employees have been asked to work from home.

Last July, Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the new president of the country which is grappling with its worst financial crisis.

Wickremesinghe also holds the portfolio of defense.

The new administration is currently negotiating a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund.