International Development – Page 4

Factum Perspective: The 21st Century, an Asian Century?

Health and Economic Cooperation, International Development, Regional GeopoliticsAugust 21, 2022626Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Kaif Sally For some 500 years, the West dominated the course of history. The burning question now on the horizon is, how will the 21st century become an Asian one? The notion of an Asian led global order is not recent. According to British economist Angus Maddison, China, India, and Japan alone had a…

Factum Perspective: The war in Ukraine – Five months on

Health and Economic Cooperation, International Development, Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsAugust 15, 2022729Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Rathindra Kuruwita The war in Ukraine is in its fifth month. After a few initial setbacks, due to underestimations of Ukrainian morale, the accuracy of Western signals intelligence, and Putin’s desire to minimize casualties, it seems that Russia is en route to achieving its objectives. There’s no point discussing why Russia is winning. Russia…

Factum Perspective: Will Sri Lanka slip up over Russian oil?

Health and Economic Cooperation, International Development, Regional GeopoliticsJuly 24, 2022721Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Lasanda Kurukulasuriya Sri Lanka’s outgoing president* Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in one of his last acts as head of state took a long-delayed step of talking to his Russian counterpart President Vladimir Putin on the phone, to request desperately needed fuel supplies on credit. According to a post on his Twitter account on Wednesday (6) he…

Factum Perspective: Historicising foreign policy in Sri Lanka

International DevelopmentMarch 20, 2022774Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Uditha Devapriya In contrast to most countries, especially in South and South East Asia, there have been very few attempts at historicising foreign policy in Sri Lanka. Barring the works of diplomats and scholars like Vernon Mendis and Shelton Kodikara, no proper book on the subject has come out yet. The result has been…

Factum Perspective: Pop, cricket and the role of culture in international politics

International Development, Regional GeopoliticsDecember 25, 2021452Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Chamara Sumanapala On November 30, 2021, the Caribbean island nation of Barbados became a republic, shedding its last constitutional ties to the British Crown. On that occasion, Barbados named a new national hero, Robyn Rihanna Fenty – the globally acclaimed pop star which created a wider debate on the criteria for a national…

Factum Perspective – Speech lessons for Lankan leaders from Barbados PM

International DevelopmentNovember 21, 2021590Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Omar Rajarathnam Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley address the COP26 World Leaders Summit in Glasgow 2021 Sri Lankan leaders in recent times have often struggled to effectively advocate for the country’s interest at international forums. The likes of Sirimavo Bandaranaike, J.R. Jayewardene and Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga during the…

Factum Perspective: Breaking down The Pandora Papers

International DevelopmentOctober 11, 2021659Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Chamara Sumanapala Before October 3 this year, most of us had heard about only one Pandora. The Greek mythology character that opened up a box and released all the vices that are present in the society. On October 3, another Pandora made headlines – a collection of documents carrying financial details named “Pandora…

Factum Perspective: Why are foreign exchange reserves important for an economy?

Health and Economic Cooperation, International DevelopmentSeptember 19, 2021841Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Dr R.H. S. Samaratunga Discussions about Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange (Forex) reserves have made headlines in the past few months. What are foreign currency reserves and how does a country benefit from maintaining good forex reserves? Forex reserves areforeign-currency deposits held by country’s central banks and/or monetary authorities. It also includes gold reserves, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) and International Monetary…