Kachchatheevu is a small, uninhabited island located in the Palk Strait between Sri Lanka and India. Its economic value comes from the fishing grounds that belong to Sri Lanka, by mutual agreement between both countries. These waters support a large share of Sri Lanka’s fishing economy.

Our second issue delves deep. We explore how far Sri Lanka is willing to go on connectivity with India. Does the future hold a ‘channel tunnel’ between the countries or is a more modest, and perhaps more pressing, electricity interconnection the way forward? Meanwhile, the old adage ‘location location location’ may not continue to serve Sri Lanka as its most successful port faces growing competition.

ටිකක් රිදෙයි: Rehana Thowfeek discusses the impending food crisis Sri Lanka is to face due to war and climate change.

If India is worried about a food crisis – that should send alarm bells blaring in Sri Lanka. We import a lot of food from India; around 250,000 MTs of Bombay Onions, 190,000 MTs of sugar and 45,000 MTs of chillies. In addition to that we import some varieties of rice, chickpeas, green gram, dhal, red onions and other vegetables from India.

For much of the post-Cold War era, international conflict resolution was largely a Western enterprise. The United States, its allies and the United Nations remained the principal brokers of peace, from the Camp David Accords to the Dayton Agreement, relying on diplomatic influence, economic leverage and security guarantees.

Sri Lanka's GSP+ renewal arrives at a defining moment. The country is emerging from its worst economic crisis in decades while facing an increasingly competitive global trading environment. The India - EU Free Trade Agreement has changed the regional landscape and raised the stakes for Sri Lankan exporters.

As US-Iran negotiations reach a critical juncture, here's how Sri Lanka has been affected since the war began.

Sri Lanka imports almost 100% of the fertiliser used, so our agriculture sector is highly vulnerable to import and energy price shocks.

In the first issue of Lanka Dispatch, we move beyond quarterly updates on China-Sri Lanka relations to look at something broader: how our island navigates a world that is fragmented and volatile.

Inflationary pressures are building in Sri Lanka as it faces the direct and indirect effects of the US-Israel war on Iran.

The impact of the war depends on how long it lasts and how far it spreads; if it ends in a few weeks, stability can return in a few months. If it continues for months, it will take years for the global economy to stabilise.

Charuka Peiris, Programme & Research Officer at Arutha, writes to The Diplomat on surge of Indian tourism to Sri Lanka - bolstered by a shared culture and love of cricket. Read the full article here: https://thediplomat.com/2026/02/beyond-the-ramayana-trail-why-indian-tourists-matter-more-than-ever-to-sri-lanka/

Yolani Fernando and Umesh Moramudali from Arutha recently contributed to the report, The Political Economy of Debt, funded by The Asia Foundation. This publication focuses on the political economy of South Asian nations and its effects on public debt dynamics. The chapter on Sri Lanka delves into the structural issues that led to the country’s first ever sovereign default in 2022.