Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has called on Sri Lanka’s youth to take the reins of national transformation amid deep economic uncertainty.
MP Premadasa made the appeal to nearly a thousand young entrepreneurs from across the country while delivering the keynote speech at the Teen Business Summit 2025 held in Colombo.
Hosted by the Business School in collaboration with StartX, the summit brought together future business leaders from all 25 districts, providing a platform for innovation, entrepreneurship, and critical dialogue.
MP Premadasa opened his remarks with gratitude to the organisers before delivering a frank assessment of the country’s economic situation. “Sri Lanka today stands not at a turning point, but at a testing point,” he warned, pointing to stagnating growth projections and looming debt repayments in 2028.
He described the current sense of stability as “the silence before a storm,” criticising the lack of structural reforms and warning of a potential second economic collapse if transformative change is not enacted.
“This country does not need more bandages. It needs surgery,” MP Premadasa said, asserting that meaningful reform cannot come from “the same old power structures,” but must be driven by a new generation of thinkers and doers.
Calling the youth “the heartbeat of Sri Lanka and its future,” he challenged them to reject outdated economic models and embrace bottom-up, decentralised innovation that prioritises ethics, sustainability, and inclusivity.
From women-led agri-tech hubs in the East to solar-powered micro-enterprises in the North, MP Premadasa painted a vision of a vibrant, entrepreneurial Sri Lanka empowered by young minds and cutting-edge technology.
MP Premadasa also addressed the importance of maintaining the GSP+ preferential trade status with the European Union, emphasising that it must be earned through credible governance, environmental protections, and democratic integrity, principles he believes youth-led businesses are uniquely positioned to uphold.
Turning to global challenges, he cautioned about the ripple effects of geopolitical tensions, such as the Israel-Iran conflict, on fuel prices, trade, and investor confidence. “In such volatility, nations that adapt survive,” he said. “And Sri Lanka must build economic resilience, not through might, but through knowledge, entrepreneurship, and integrity.”
In an impassioned appeal, MP Premadasa urged young Sri Lankans not to wait for politicians or bureaucracies to modernise. “Do not wait. Be the change. Build your ventures now. Speak your truths now.” He called today’s summit a signal to the nation and a milestone, not just a memory.
Concluding, MP Premadasa reminded the audience that Sri Lanka’s true wealth is its people. “You are that wealth. Your time is now,” he said, invoking global moments of transformation, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the rise of artificial intelligence, as proof that even the smallest voices can create seismic shifts. (Newswire)