• MR spent Rs 42 m on 3 visits; Dinesh spent Rs 3 m on 4 visits
• No foreign visits by Ranil during 2022 PM tenure
• Harini has travelled the most with 8 visits; spent only Rs 11.5 m 

Of the four Prime Ministers (PMs) who served between November 2019 and 13 May of this year, Mahinda Rajapaksa incurred the highest expenditure on foreign travel, spending Rs 42.3 m on only three overseas visits, whereas Dinesh Gunawardena recorded the lowest foreign travel expenditure, spending just Rs 3.43 m, despite undertaking four foreign visits.

The figures were revealed in information provided under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, No. 12 of 2016 by the PM’s Office.

Rajapaksa, who served as the PM from 21 November 2019 to 9 May 2022, incurred a total expenditure of Rs 3,225,092,107.50 (approximately Rs 3.23 b) through the PM’s Office. During that period, he made three official foreign visits to Bangladesh, Italy and India at a total cost of Rs 42,315,510.79 (approximately Rs 42.3 m).

Ranil Wickremesinghe, who served as the PM from 12 May 2022 to 21 July 2022, incurred a total of Rs 141,214,407.48 (approximately Rs 141.2 m) through the PM’s Office and did not undertake any foreign visits during his tenure.

Gunawardena, who served as the PM from 22 July 2022 to 23 September 2024, incurred a total expenditure of Rs 2,403,160,007.96 (approximately Rs 2.4 b) through the PM’s Office. He undertook four foreign visits to Thailand, China on two occasions, and to South Korea. The total expenditure on those visits amounted to Rs 3,431,922.91 (approximately Rs 3.43 m), the lowest foreign travel expenditure among the four PMs.

Incumbent PM Dr Harini Amarasuriya, who is in office from 24 September 2024 to date, has incurred a total expenditure of Rs 1,361,114,655.56 (approximately Rs 1.36 b) through the PM’s Office as at 13 May. She undertook eight foreign visits to Germany, France, Thailand, Canada, Switzerland, China, India and the Philippines, with the total expenditure on those visits amounting to Rs 11,546,694.56 (approximately Rs 11.5 m).

The information shows that although Dr Amarasuriya undertook the highest number of foreign visits among the four PMs, the expenditure incurred on those visits was substantially lower than the amount spent on foreign travel during Rajapaksa’s tenure.