(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) – Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera says compared to the currencies in other countries in the region, Sri Lankan rupee is strong and there are signs of stabilization.
“Sri Lanka’s currency is currently showing signs of stabilization. The devaluation of the Sri Lankan rupee was 9 percent, but the Indian rupee depreciated 11 percent,” the Minister said making a special statement.
“Also, the Indonesian Rufiyaa and the Korean Von have been depreciated. The depreciation of currencies in countries such as Australia and Russia, which are considered as developed countries, is higher than ours,” he said.
He said the government’s good financial management policies is the reason for strong rupee.
“We have successfully dealt with this devaluation of the rupee. We need foreign exchange to pay the huge amount of debt that the Rajapaksa government has given to us. We have to pay over Rs. 4 trillion in loans for next two years. If only we cannot pay back these debts, then it will be similar to the crisis in Argentina and Greece,” he said.
“If we tried to use our foreign exchange to control the depreciation of rupee against the dollar instead of paying the debt, then our economy will also collapse,” he explained.
“The former Minister of Finance as well as the opposition politicians are trying to show that rupee has never been depreciated in this manner in the history. But If he has forgotten, I can point out that in 2012, when Mahinda Rajapaksa was Minister of Finance and the President, rupee depreciated over 14 percent,” Minister Samaraweera reminded.
