SriLanka, Sept. 11 -- Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe yesterday delivered a strong case for Sri Lanka to build adequate foreign reserve buffers during favourable times, warning that waiting until the next external crisis strikes would be too late.

"Buffers must be built before they are needed. When a country is already facing an external crisis, it is too late to begin building reserves," Weerasinghe said, drawing on hard lessons from Sri Lanka's unprecedented economic crisis in 2022.

Delivering the keynote address at the inaugural Reserve Management Conference 2026 in Colombo, the Governor said the 2022 crisis demonstrated in the clearest terms what happens when a country enters a shock with inadequate external buffers....