Sri Lanka is set to invite international tenders for exploration and development licences for oil and gas in the Mannar Basin. 

The government has sought to expedite the process. Previously, they had announced that they would invite tenders for a consultancy to manage the international bidding process, but have instead decided to proceed directly with exploration and development licenses. 

Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake admitted a “black state” existed on the island, revealing links between the criminal underworld and Sri Lanka’s security forces in an address last week.

Speaking at the launch of the government’s new anti-narcotics drive, titled “United as a Nation – National Drive” (“රටම එකට – ජාතික මෙහෙයුම”), Dissanayake presented a series of allegations and findings he said underpinned the crackdown. 

A landmark report commissioned by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), with support from the Australian Government, finds that Sri Lankan militarisation in the North-East has worsened the climate vulnerability and weakened the adaptive capacity of Tamils across the region.