At the close of two years, the National Unity Government (NUG) of Sri Lanka has failed to maintain the confidence and trust of the people it enjoyed during the first three months of its tenure. Having said that, political crisis or instability in Sri Lanka remains unlikely. The NUG is likely to complete its full term, but it will not be a cakewalk.
Research Assistant, IDSA Ms Gulbin Sultana wrote a chapter, titled ‘Nepal-Sri Lanka Relations: Challenges and Prospects’, in Pramod Jaiswal’s edited book, Revisiting Nepal’s Foreign Policy in Contemporary Global Power Structure.
Research Assistant, IDSA, Ms Gulbin Sultana’s article on India-Sri Lanka relations, titled, ‘India-Sri Lanka Relations in the Context of India's Neighbourhood First Policy’ was published in the Indian Foreign Affairs Journal, Volume 12, No. 3, July-September 2017.
Research Assistant, IDSA, Ms Gulbin Sultana’s commentary on elections in Maldives, titled, ‘Maldivian Presidential Elections Announced Amid Rights Abuses’ has been published by the Air World Service, an External Services Division of All India Radio on June 17, 2018.
Research Assistant, IDSA, Ms Gulbin Sultana’s commentary on Chinese financial assistance to Sri Lanka, titled ‘Chinese Financial Assistance: Preference or Compulsion for Sri Lanka?’ was published by ‘IAPS Dialogue’ on May 17, 2017.
Research Assistant, IDSA, Ms Gulbin Sultana’s article on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Sri Lanka visit, titled ‘Modi’s Sri Lanka Visit: More Symbolism than Substance’ was published in South Asian Voices on May 9, 2017.
Since the fall of the Mahinda Rajapaksa government, there has been an apparent foreign policy shift in Sri Lanka. There is a growing view that the new National Unity Government (NUG), which came to power in January 2015 with Maithripala Sirisena as President, has shown its proclivities towards India and the US and moved away from China, especially under Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Research Assistant, IDSA, Ms Gulbin Sultana’s article on Maldives, titled ‘An unholy alliance of politics and radical Islam in Maldives’ got published in the October 2015 edition of Aakrosh - Asian Journal on Terrorism and internal Conflicts.
It was almost certain that the United National Front for Good Governance coalition would outperform the United People’s Freedom Alliance in Sri Lanka’s parliamentary elections.
