In view of the current security situation in the Republic of Sri Lanka and the reports of frequent protests, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged citizens not to visit the country unless absolutely necessary.
Sri Lanka is suffering a critical shortage of foreign exchange that has left its import-dependent economy unable to source vital supplies of food, fuel, and medicines.
The country's 22 million people have endured severe hardships as a result, with record inflation and lengthy daily blackouts, and the government has defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt.
The South Asian island nation has suffered months of dire shortages and anti-government protests, which turned deadly earlier in May with at least nine people killed. Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said a newly appointed "economic war cabinet" on Monday approved the new rates to stem huge losses at the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corp.
An economist at the Johns Hopkins University, Steve Hanke, who tracks prices in the world's trouble spots, said Sri Lanka's inflation was even higher than officially reported.
"Using high-frequency data and the purchasing power parity technique, I accurately measure inflation at 122 percent year on year," Hanke said, referring to March inflation, which was officially 21.5 per cent. "Inflation is crushing the poorest in Sri Lanka," he added.
Sri Lanka last month announced a sovereign default on its $51 billion foreign debt and is in talks with the International Monetary Fund to secure a bailout. The government imposed a broad import ban in March 2020 to save foreign currency as dollar inflows slowed.
The local currency has lost its value rapidly. A US dollar bought 200 rupees in March, but the exchange rate has now deteriorated to 360 rupees to the dollar. The pandemic compounded the country's economic woes triggered by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's drastic tax cuts in 2019 as part of his election pledge.
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