Tuesday Dec 09, 2025
Tuesday Dec 09, 2025
Tuesday, 9 December 2025 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Former IMF Asia and Pacific Department Director Anoop Singh delivered the keynote address
Pathfinder Foundation Distinguished Fellow and former Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga and Pathfinder Foundation Distinguished Fellow Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy with participants focusing on theme, “Managing Public Finance: The South Asian Experience”
The Pathfinder Foundation conducted a high-level event, focusing on the theme “Managing Public Finance: The South Asian Experience.” The event, held in a hybrid format, brought together university scholars, representatives from leading think tanks, and experts in related fields.
Pathfinder Foundation Chairman Bernard Goonetilleke, in his opening remarks stressed the importance of sound fiscal governance in the wake of the socio-political crises experienced in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh in recent years—which indicate that South Asia can no longer treat fiscal policy as secondary or routine. His remarks concluded on the note that the discussion was of vital importance in the wake of the catastrophic cyclone that ravaged Sri Lanka the previous week.
Former International Monetary Fund (IMF) Asia and Pacific Department Director Anoop Singh, delivered the keynote address, emphasising that the global economy is heading into a new era characterised by significant changes in the international trading environment, where the role of public finance and its management as catalysts for economic growth has been highlighted. This shift, however, could not be timelier, given the historic highs global debt has reached. “What you cannot see, you cannot manage,” Singh said that one of the main drivers of increasing global debt is “data gaps” caused by inconsistently defined, misclassified, and unreported debt and expenditure, among other issues. Additionally, Singh asserted that these data gaps are deliberate and that a framework for global financial reporting of this calibre must be established by developing systems that monitor and audit, supported by institutions that uphold these systems.
Pathfinder Foundation Distinguished Fellow and Former Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga and Pathfinder Foundation Distinguished Fellow Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy also share their insights. The concluding remarks were given by Pathfinder Foundation Executive Director Dr. Dayaratna Silva who expressed his sincere gratitude to Anoop Sing for his excellent presentation. He also mentioned the support that Singh has consistently provided to Sri Lanka when landmark economic reforms were carried out in 1977. He appreciated the contributions of key resource persons, who clarified complex issues in public finance with remarkable clarity and insight.
The Pathfinder Foundation continues to facilitate dialogue between related field experts, aiming to direct Sri Lanka towards a sustainable and prosperous future.
