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Factum Perspective: India lends bigger hand to Sri Lanka’s economic crisis amid ratings downgrade

Belt Road Initiative and Indo-Pacific Policy, Health and Economic Cooperation, Regional GeopoliticsJanuary 16, 2022825Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Shihar Aneez and Omar Rajarathnam A day without power cuts is now a breaking news story in Sri Lanka which is facing precarious economic instability. The common citizen is unsure what to make of the financial chaos with its government running low on dollars and money to run the country. Excessive money printing…

Is Sri Lanka thrusting itself in the middle of a Churchill trap?

Belt Road Initiative and Indo-Pacific Policy, Regional GeopoliticsJanuary 11, 2022705Views 0Likes 0Comments

By LP Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s arrival in Sri Lanka last evening (8) comes at one of the most politically tumultuous times in Sri Lanka’s history. As the forex crisis deepens and over half of Sri Lanka’s gold reserves emptied, there is hope the Chinese will offer much needed assistance to relieve the pressure…

Factum Perspective: Lanka-Sino ties and criteria for ‘win-win’ economic diplomacy

Belt Road Initiative and Indo-Pacific Policy, Health and Economic CooperationJanuary 1, 2022514Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Shiran Illanperuma China has long emphasized that its outward investment via the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is based on the principle of “win-win”. This is to say that Chinese investment is geared towards mutual benefit, and should not veer too far into the extremes of charity on the one hand, and exploitation…

Factum Perspective – Sri Lanka’s Foreign Policy since independence, which leader did it best?

Belt Road Initiative and Indo-Pacific Policy, Regional GeopoliticsDecember 12, 20212KViews 0Likes 0Comments

By Chandani Kirinde Cartoon by W.R. Wijesoma – Published 50 Years in Cartoon 1948-1977 For a small island nation like Sri Lanka, tiding over the turbulent world of international relations hasn’t been an easy task since independence. Much of the success stories in foreign affairs have depended on the country's leaders and the direction in which they…

Factum Perspective – Are corporate giants above nation states?

Belt Road Initiative and Indo-Pacific PolicyNovember 27, 2021790Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Sarasi Paranamanna The vessel, Hippo Spirit carrying Chinese fertilizer from Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co. Ltd is still looming around Sri Lankan waters much like the inclement weather these days. Minister of Agriculture Mahindananda Aluthgamage has stated that Qingdao Seawin has agreed to take back the fertilizer shipment which has caused much contention and…

Factum Perspective – Can the West make a difference in Afghanistan

Belt Road Initiative and Indo-Pacific Policy, Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsNovember 19, 2021601Views 0Likes 0Comments

The return of the Taliban & the future of Afghanistan, Can the west make a difference? By Rathindra Kuruwita and Rikaza Hassan The fate of Afghanistan is still up for grabs by the west, but the clock is ticking … fast. The international community watched with a mix of shock, horror and awe as…

Factum Perspective: China upping people-to-people diplomacy in Sri Lanka

Belt Road Initiative and Indo-Pacific PolicyAugust 1, 2021881Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Omar Rajarathnam China is a rising public diplomacy power. With infinite money to project its image, it deploys West-based social media platforms to amplify people-to-people ties in democracies world over including Sri Lanka. Reciprocity is a key aspect of diplomacy, but not in this case because in China access to social media platforms hailing…