The second phase of the GCF Grant Awards, 2025-26 took place at the Gamani Corea Foundation, on May 8th.
In keeping with the vision of Dr. Gamani Corea, the GCF Research Awards 2025-2026 were launched to support cutting-edge research in economics and multidisciplinary research between economics, social sciences, management, mathematics, computer science and/or humanities. The overall focus of this program is to promote high-quality research into development issues and generate knowledge to promote economic development in the Global South, with special reference to Sri Lanka.
GCF-SLEA Economic Forum on Sri Lanka’s Current Macroeconomic Policy Directions in the Context of Global Volatility took place on May 8th.
The GCF has launched an Economic Forum series in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Economic Association (SLEA).
The first forum in this series was held at the Lakshman Kadirgamr Institute auditorium on May 8th.
Dr. Chandranath Amarasekara, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank delivered the key note address.
The well-attended event was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Mr, Nisthar Cassim, Editor, Daily FT. The panel consisted of Mr. Manjula De Silva, Board Member – GCF, Prof. OG Dayaratna Banda, Senior Professor, Economics – University of Peradeniya and Ms. Arani Rodrigo, Head of the Business Intelligence Unit, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.
The Q&A session was coordinated by Dr. Harsha Aturupane. Daily FT was the print media partner.
Dr. Amarasekera spoke about how countries like Sri Lanka, which depend heavily on imported energy for transport, electricity generation, and industrial use, cannot set retail petroleum and electricity prices in isolation from global energy markets. Expecting governments to fix these prices is unrealistic; they must be cost-reflective.
A seminar, on the book “The Policy Challenges of Globalization in Sri Lanka”, by Dr. Sarath Rajapatirana, was held at the GCFon June 11th.
The seminar was based on the book “Policy Challenges of Globalization in Sri Lanka”, authored by Dr. Sarath Rajapatirana, former Economic Adviser to the President of Sri Lanka and Chair of the Academic Programme at Advocata Institute, who delivered the keynote address.
The session provided a platform for a broad discussion on free trade, the impact of global economic and geopolitical turmoil on the Sri Lankan economy, and the importance of strengthening Sri Lanka’s political and trade relations with both developed and developing countries beyond its conventional partners.
The discussion also examined the policy challenges Sri Lanka has faced in the past and is likely to encounter in the future, particularly in the formulation and implementation of economic reforms and consistent, forward thinking policies aimed at enhancing the country’s integration into the global economy.