Tracking delivery on manifesto promises

Establish, enhance and modernize marketplaces for potential products including gems, jewelry, precious stones, textiles, and handicrafts targeting foreign buyers.

Why this status: The government’s official national policy repeats this economic or tax commitment as a key activity. This is a formal implementation direction, but no nationwide completion evidence is shown, so the promise remains in the works.

Introduce necessary legal reforms and new laws to remove information asymmetry prevailing in the market.

Why this status: The government’s official national policy repeats this economic or tax commitment as a key activity. This is a formal implementation direction, but no nationwide completion evidence is shown, so the promise remains in the works.

Implement a coordinated service management mechanism to provide auxiliary services such as finance, banking, transportation, insurance, communications, packaging, and warehousing for the smooth functioning of trade and distribution.

Why this status: The government’s official national policy repeats this economic or tax commitment as a key activity. This is a formal implementation direction, but no nationwide completion evidence is shown, so the promise remains in the works.

Establish a monitoring mechanism and an online information management system to ensure the continuation of trade of goods and services in a fair and high-quality manner, protection of consumer rights and transparency in trade-related information.

Why this status: Under way. The Consumer Affairs Authority has procured the design, development, implementation and maintenance of a Consumer Affairs Information System with an all-island rollout and online services for traders. That directly addresses the promised online information-management and monitoring infrastructure, but the currently published consumer process still relies on written, emailed, faxed or mailed complaints rather than demonstrating a fully operational public system.

Establish large-scale economic and exchange centres at the district level.

Why this status: The government’s official national policy repeats this economic or tax commitment as a key activity. This is a formal implementation direction, but no nationwide completion evidence is shown, so the promise remains in the works.

Provide the public with access to comprehensive information on the operations of SOEs to ensure transparency.

Why this status: Partly delivered. The Finance Ministry provides a public portal of annual reports and financial statements for 52 key SOEs, with many 2025 records now available. This materially improves public access to financial information, but it does not yet demonstrate comprehensive operational information for the full SOE sector.

Provide appropriate tax concessions for initial public offerings (IPOs) for capital formation.

Why this status: The government’s official national policy repeats this economic or tax commitment as a key activity. This is a formal implementation direction, but no nationwide completion evidence is shown, so the promise remains in the works.

Introduce investment schemes with special benefits for Sri Lankan expatriates to invest their earnings.

Why this status: The government’s official national policy repeats this economic or tax commitment as a key activity. This is a formal implementation direction, but no nationwide completion evidence is shown, so the promise remains in the works.

Restructure the state institutional system to maintain the capital market efficient & productive, build investor confidence and prevent inside trading and corruption.

Why this status: Under way. The SEC reports a 12-pillar capital-market transformation strategy, regulatory strengthening, investor-protection activity and enforcement against unlicensed market activity. This advances market efficiency, confidence and integrity, but the reviewed evidence does not establish the full institutional restructuring promised.

Establish a single window to facilitate business registration, issuance of licenses, certifications, granting of permission for land use, and provision of electricity, water, communication services and other facilities through an integrated system.

Why this status: The 2026 Budget says the government will implement a digital single-window mechanism for Board of Investment project approvals. This is a concrete step toward integrated investor services, but it does not yet verify the full promised system across company registration, licenses, land, electricity, water and communications.

Introduce a legal framework to ensure transparency and fairness in line with internationally accepted principles and practices for accepting and retaining investment.

Why this status: The Government is advancing a legal package aimed at investor confidence and transparency. The 2026 Budget reports amendments to the Strategic Development Projects Act and Colombo Port City Commission Act to streamline FDI and enhance incentive transparency, and says a PPP Bill and an Investment Protection Act are to follow. Because the core new Acts were still described as drafts or future legislation, the evidence supports active reform rather than a completed legal framework.

Establish a single empowered institution by integrating existing state institutions including the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka that coordinate and promote investments.

Why this status: The government’s official national policy repeats this economic or tax commitment as a key activity. This is a formal implementation direction, but no nationwide completion evidence is shown, so the promise remains in the works.

Conduct a detailed debt audit on foreign loans obtained by the governments to ensure transparency and accountability in public financial management and to take legal actions against those who have misappropriated such loans.

Why this status: An official government policy or Cabinet decision directly addresses this commitment. It is evidence of a formal implementation direction, but not proof of nationwide completion, so it remains in the works.

Review existing trade agreements and enter into new ones to increase the share of foreign trade through export diversification.

Why this status: Under way. The 2026 Budget says Cabinet appointed an expert committee to review existing trade agreements and explore new agreements, with an export-development plan also being prepared. This is evidenced implementation activity, but not yet the completed trade-agreement outcomes promised.

Introduce new savings and investment plans, including expatriate Bonds for Sri Lankans living abroad.

Why this status: Partly delivered. The 2026 Budget introduced a contributory pension scheme and a concessional housing-loan scheme for migrant workers, creating new financial products for Sri Lankans abroad. However, the reviewed Budget does not introduce the specifically promised expatriate bond, so the wider pledge is not fully delivered.

Introduce new financing schemes to formally invest bank money and savings in production economic activities.

Why this status: Cabinet approved a consolidated MSME credit framework combining investment, green-finance and inclusive-finance loan schemes, plus a disaster-relief facility. These are new formal financing channels for production and business revival, but they do not prove that bank savings have been comprehensively redirected across the wider economy.

Provide relief to deprived parties after reviewing microfinance loans provided in violation of legal provisions and guidelines given.

Why this status: The policy directly commits to providing relief to deprived parties after reviewing microfinance loans issued in violation of legal provisions and guidelines. No completion data is shown.

Direct cooperative banks, Samurddhi banks and regional development banks efficiently to provide financial facilities for small-scale farmers, entrepreneurs, and investors.

Why this status: Government-backed rural and community-bank finance is being used to support farmers, low-income households and entrepreneurs, including an islandwide credit-guarantee and interest-subsidy scheme that includes the Regional Development Bank. This is relevant delivery, although the evidence does not show a comprehensive efficiency reform across every cooperative, Samurdhi and regional development bank.

Establish a new national development bank to provide long-term financing, start new businesses, and expand existing businesses for entrepreneurs.

Why this status: An official government policy or Cabinet decision directly addresses this commitment. It is evidence of a formal implementation direction, but not proof of nationwide completion, so it remains in the works.

Establish a new ‘relief bank’ to restore the economic activities of MSMEs and provide relief for outstanding loans.

Why this status: The Central Bank and Finance Ministry have implemented SME debt-relief and recovery loan measures, including concessional lending and a new umbrella MSME framework. However, no new dedicated relief bank has been established, so the pledge is only partly met through alternative mechanisms.

Implement measures to prevent leakages and tax evasion on international transactions and transfer pricing and Automatic Exchange of Information (AEoI) among countries.

Why this status: The government’s official national policy repeats this economic or tax commitment as a key activity. This is a formal implementation direction, but no nationwide completion evidence is shown, so the promise remains in the works.

Decentralize Sri Lanka Customs operations to provide more efficient and cost-effective services.

Why this status: The government’s official national policy repeats this economic or tax commitment as a key activity. This is a formal implementation direction, but no nationwide completion evidence is shown, so the promise remains in the works.

Amend the Foreign Exchange Act to reconcile remittance inflows and improve operational efficiency.

Why this status: An official government policy or Cabinet decision directly addresses this commitment. It is evidence of a formal implementation direction, but not proof of nationwide completion, so it remains in the works.

Simplify the complex tariff structure to increase customs revenue on a fair basis.

Why this status: The tariff structure has been materially simplified: the 2026 Budget moved the Customs Import Duty bands from 0%, 15% and 20% to 0%, 10%, 20% and 30%, while the 2026 Customs guide records applicable national levies from 1 April 2026. This meets the structural-change part of the pledge. The available official evidence does not yet show that the reform has increased customs revenue or demonstrably achieved the promised fairness outcome, so it is not rated fully kept.

Establish a single window service by integrating other state institutions with Sri Lanka Customs to streamline import/export operations.

Why this status: The Trade National Single Window programme is active and is being expanded, but it is not yet the fully integrated service promised. The Ministry of Finance maintains a dedicated TNSW project, while the live portal reports three regulatory-agency systems online and states that the remaining agencies are intended to be brought online. The 2026 Budget also allocates Rs. 2.5 billion to improve the Trade National Single Window. This is substantive implementation, not a completed integration of all import/export institutions.