The Institute of National Security Studies (INSS) successfully conducted a Security Salon on 04 March 2026 at the INSS Conference Hall, Colombo, under the theme “Sri Lanka’s Economy and Economic Security in Uncertain Global Times”. The guest speaker of the event was Dr. Ganeshan Wijnaraja. The moderator of the event was Major General Ranjan Wijedasa (Retd), Director General of INSS.
The session was delivered Dr. Ganeshan Wijnaraja, a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore, concurrent with his affiliation as a Visiting Senior Fellow at ODI (formerly the Overseas Development Institute) in London and a Co-editor of Development Policy Review. He is also the Professorial Fellow in Economics and Trade at Gateway House in Mumbai.
The lecture was started with the introduction to content of the lecture and making the participants clear on a Small Model of Economic Development in a Small Economy. Then, it provided Strategic Insights of Global Economic Outlook, and History of Policy Gaps Hindering the Economic Development in Sri Lanka, Causes of Sri Lanka’s 2022 Default/Economic Crisis and further Key Economic Indicators including statistics in comparison with the factors like GDP Growth and Poverty. Moreover, the lecture framed to provide insights on Key Elements Supporting Sri Lanka’s Recovery, Sri Lanka’s 2026 Budget- Welfare Goals Meet Fiscal Discipline and Economic Outlook - Heightened Risks. The lecturer further discussed about his views on threats and opportunities related to war in Iran at present. The Final phase of the lecture was comprised with Policy priorities for Sri Lanka’s recovery from the Debt and Ditwah. The lecture was concluded with the vital takeaways.
The session also featured an interactive question-and-answer segment, facilitating meaningful engagement between the Guest speaker and participants. The discussion was attended by senior officers, officials representing the tri-services, members of the Institute, and representatives from the Sri Lanka Border Risk Assessment Centre (BRAC) and Think Tanks such as LKI, ODI Global and Pathfinder Foundation. A number of participants also joined the session virtually via Zoom, further broadening the reach of the discussion.
Major General Ruwan Wanigasooriya (Retd) and Air Vice Marshal Andrew Wijesuriya (Retd) also attended the event and contributed to the discussion by offering fruitful comments and additional insights, further enriching the overall dialogue.
INSS extends its sincere gratitude to Dr. Ganeshan Wijnaraja for sharing his expertise and strategic perspectives and acknowledges the guidance and support of the Secretary of Defence in fostering such platforms for national security dialogue.
