Sri Lanka to cut its army due to economic crisis

Sri Lanka has decided to reduce the number of national armed forces by one third, to 135,000 troops, due to a serious economic and financial crisis in the country, Reuters reports

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The country’s government plans to continue reducing the size of the army in the future – cutting it to 100,000 troops by 2030.

Earlier, the Sri Lankan officials announced a 5 percent reduction in public spending this year.

At present, Sri Lanka is experiencing the worst economic crisis since gaining independence in 1948. Experts attribute this to a reduction in foreign tourism due to the pandemic, which in turn led to a shortage of the country's foreign exchange reserves.