Sri Lanka to host international donor conference for Cyclone Ditwah recovery
COLOMBO – Sri Lanka will host an international donor conference in January 2026 to mobilize funds for post-disaster rebuilding and reconstruction following the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah, Deputy Minister of Finance Anil Jayantha Fernando said on Wednesday (17).
Addressing a media briefing, the Deputy Minister said the decision was taken at the most recent meeting of the Rebuilding Sri Lanka Fund, as the country seeks international assistance to meet the enormous cost of recovery.
“Under the last meeting of the Rebuilding Sri Lanka Fund, we decided to hold a donor conference in January,” Fernando told reporters, adding that the event would be held in Sri Lanka, with further details to be announced in due course.
Preliminary estimates place the cost of rebuilding at up to US$7 billion, although officials have cautioned that the final figure will depend on ongoing damage and needs assessments.
Sri Lanka, still emerging from its worst economic crisis in decades, which culminated in a sovereign default in 2022, cannot finance the reconstruction on its own. And though macroeconomic conditions have stabilised under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) program, fiscal space remains severely constrained.
In the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah, Sri Lanka has also sought US$200 million in emergency financing from the IMF through its Rapid Finance Instrument (RFI) to help address immediate balance-of-payments pressures arising from disaster-related spending.
The planned donor conference is expected to bring together bilateral and multilateral partners, development agencies, and international financial institutions to support Sri Lanka’s recovery, reconstruction, and resilience-building efforts.
Cyclone Ditwah caused widespread damage to homes, infrastructure, agriculture, and livelihoods across several parts of the country, displacing thousands and compounding existing economic vulnerabilities.
Officials say the government hopes the conference will not only secure funding for rebuilding, but also attract support for climate-resilient infrastructure and disaster-risk reduction, as Sri Lanka faces increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather events.
-ENCL
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