Sri Lanka’s Foreign Reserves have increased by 23.5 percent by the first week of February this year compared to the month of September last year, the Finance State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said.
Accordingly, the Foreign Reserves which remained at USD 1.7 billion in September last year have increased to USD 2.1 billion by February this year, he pointed out. This is an increase of USD 400 million.
“Food inflation which was at 94.9 percent in last September had decreased to 60.1 percent by January this year,” he pointed out.
The State Minister pointed out that the number of tourist arrivals within the first two months had increased by 261 percent compared to 29,802 arrivals in the month of September last year. Tourist arrivals within the first two months this year stands at 107,639. “All these improvements are due to the positive economic policies adopted by the present Government,” the State Minister said.
He reiterated that these statistics showcase that the country which was in a deep abyss is marching towards a prosperous future.
“The rupee is also appreciating against the US Dollar due to the economic policy decisions taken by the Government,” State Minister Siyambalapitiya said and added that prevailing political stability and the peaceful situation in the country are also supporting factors for the appreciation of the Rupee.