Director, International Economic Development Group, Principal Research Fellow
Professor Dirk Willem te Velde is a Principal Research Fellow and Director of ODI’s International Economic Development Group. He is the Director of Supporting Investment and Trade in Africa and Supporting Economic Transformation programmes.
He has written and edited 20 books/monographs, 30 peer reviewed articles and 40 book chapters related mainly to investment, trade, macro-economics, aid for trade and economic transformation.
He has advised country governments and parliaments in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, including both house of UK parliament, donor agencies such as FCDO, European Commission, UN and the World Bank, and government ministers and heads of state in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Nepal.
After a remarkable recovery from a very deep crisis in 2022, Sri Lanka’s recent budget for 2026 consolidates economic stabilisation and introduces a few markers for further growth. But more needs to be done to embed a growth strategy and transform its economy to avoid further IMF austerity programmes.
Sri Lanka’s sovereign debt default in 2022 triggered the worst economic crisis in the country’s post-independence history. By mid-2024, the economy started showing signs of recovery, with a performance higher than other debt-defaulting nations and exceeded IMF expectations. The current stable path, however, is not enough. Sri Lanka needs to shift its economic trajectory from one of debt distress to sustained growth over the next few years.
