Presidential Travel Spending: Who Spent the Most?

COLOMBO (News 1st); Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya revealed the expenditures on overseas travel by Sri Lankan Presidents over the past 15 years. She provided a detailed breakdown of the costs incurred by each president during their respective terms.

From 2010 to 2014, President Mahinda Rajapaksa's overseas travel expenses amounted to Rs. 3,572 million.

During President Maithripala Sirisena's tenure from 2015 to 2019, the expenditure significantly decreased to Rs. 384 million.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, serving from 2020 to 2022, further reduced the overseas travel costs to Rs. 126 million.

However, the trend saw a reversal with President Ranil Wickremesinghe, whose overseas travel expenses from 2023 to 2024 totaled Rs. 533 million.

In contrast, the current President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has spent Rs. 1.8 million on overseas travel from September 2024 to February 2025.