Sri Lanka can ride India's growth wave as global trade order frays: Envoy

■Indian Acting High Commissioner Dr. Satyanjal Pandey suggests Sri Lanka can leverage India’s expanding trade and investment network to strengthen resilience ■Says Colombo Port among best in the world in terms of handling efficiencies ■Lists ports, renewable energy, connectivity and integrated supply chains as new opportunities beyond apparel and tourism

- BY CHARUMINI DE SILVA

INDIAN Acting High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Dr. Satyanjal Pandey said India’s rapid economic expansion, coupled with its continued engagement with open trade and investment, offers Sri Lanka a rare opportunity to anchor recovery and long-term growth in a volatile geoeconomic environment.

Addressing policy thinkers, diplomats, and business leaders at the inaugural Colombo Geoeconomics Conference (CGC) 2026, organised by the Centre for Law and Security Studies (CLASS) and the Chintan Research Foundation (CRF) India, with the support of the Indian High Commission, last Friday, Dr. Pandey pointed out that as the global economic order fragments under the weight of protectionism, sanctions, and tariff wars, Sri Lanka's most realistic path to resilience may lie closer to home.

Dr. Pandey said the erosion of the old global order has created instability, but it has also opened space for regional partnerships to shape new economic realities. "For Sri Lanka, aligning policy frameworks, investment priorities, and infrastructure planning with India’s growth trajectory may offer a way not only to buffer external shocks, but to secure a more durable role in an increasingly contested global economy," he added.

He acknowledged that the existing port infrastructure will not be sufficient to support India’s ambitions. The plans to expand port capacity could fit in with Sri Lanka’s globally competitive ports, positioning the island as a logistics and transshipment hub in the Indian Ocean.