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A claim attributed to NPP MP Ravindra Bandara has been getting lot of attention on social media circles recently: that Cabinet had approved a plan to make Sri Lanka the richest country in the world. Mainstream outlets picked it up alongside social media pages, and it quickly spread as proof of a bold new government pledge. We investigated. Here is what we found.
Social Media Posts
The claim was reported under the headline: “Cabinet approval granted to make Sri Lanka the wealthiest country in the world, NPP MP Ravindra.”
The same story was carried on a news website as follows.
Other posts citing the same report also circulated on social media, as shown below.
We set out to verify whether MP Ravindra Bandara had genuinely made this statement.
Fact-Check
The Claim Traces Back to a 26 June Parliamentary Debate
Tracing the basis for these posts, we found they were built on a statement NPP MP Ravindra Bandara made during a parliamentary debate on 26 June 2026. We examined his full remarks from that debate, shown below.
MP Ravindra Bandara also posted the full statement on his official Facebook page, seen here.
His Full Statement Was About Green Hydrogen, Not a ‘Richest Country’ Plan
In his statement, MP Ravindra Bandara said the following:
You may have noticed that Cabinet approval was granted for the Green Hydrogen policy a week or two ago. What is Green Hydrogen? Green hydrogen is set to be the key energy source of the future, it is a completely clean fuel. Our country has all the potential needed for it, solar power, water and wind, we have all of it. With these resources, we can produce green hydrogen. Producing it serves as a fuel on one hand, while on the other it completely eliminates carbon dioxide emissions and environmental pollution.
As solar power and Green Hydrogen take this country forward, it will become one of the richest, most beautiful countries in the world, because Green Hydrogen gives us that potential. That is what received Cabinet approval.
Through Green Hydrogen, we produce hydrogen without carbon emissions. Combined with atmospheric nitrogen, we can also produce Green Ammonia, which would solve our country’s fertiliser problem. The largest share of our foreign exchange goes toward importing fossil fuels and fertiliser. We won’t need to import fertiliser, we can produce and even export it through Green Ammonia. That is what a government with a real plan looks like.
The full video of the parliamentary debate containing this statement is here.
Nowhere in his full statement does MP Ravindra Bandara directly say that “Cabinet approval was granted to make Sri Lanka the wealthiest country in the world.” He did say that as the country moves forward through the Cabinet-approved Green Hydrogen project, Sri Lanka would become one of the richest, most beautiful countries in the world, a description of an outcome he hoped for, not a claim about what Cabinet had approved.
Hiru TV Later Edited Its Report
The Hiru TV report circulating on social media originally carried the headline “Cabinet approval granted to make Sri Lanka the wealthiest country in the world, MP Ravindra Bandara.” It was later edited to read: “Approval granted for Green Hydrogen project that will make Sri Lanka one of the wealthiest countries in the world, NPP MP Ravindra.” The revised post is available here.
Although Hiru TV corrected its report, posts using the original, unedited version continue to circulate on social media.
MP Ravindra Bandara Says the Posts Distort His Statement
When we contacted him, MP Ravindra Bandara said the posts circulating on social media do not reflect what he actually said. He said the posts distort the meaning of his remarks, strip out the context, and report them in a misleading manner.
He explained that “A Prosperous Country, A Beautiful Life” is the NPP’s stated core policy objective, and that his speech referred to the party’s policy of building a prosperous nation in that spirit. He said reporting that Cabinet had approved making Sri Lanka the wealthiest country in the world was a complete distortion of what he actually said.
What he actually said, the MP stated, was that Cabinet approval had been granted for the Green Hydrogen project, not that Cabinet approval had been granted to make Sri Lanka the wealthiest country in the world. He also published his own post calling the circulating claim false.
Cabinet Approved the Green Hydrogen Policy on 8 June
Sri Lanka’s National Green Hydrogen Policy received Cabinet approval at the Cabinet meeting held on 8 June 2026. Further information can be viewed here.
What Exactly Is Green Hydrogen?
Hydrogen is separated from oxygen in water through a process called electrolysis to produce hydrogen fuel. Because the electricity needed for this process comes from renewable sources such as solar or wind power, it is considered a completely carbon-free, clean method. Through its Green Hydrogen project, Sri Lanka aims to use surplus renewable energy to export green hydrogen and ammonia to international markets, earning foreign exchange while securing the country’s energy security. More information can be accessed here and here.
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Conclusion
Our fact-check found that social media posts claiming NPP MP Ravindra Bandara said Cabinet approval was granted to make Sri Lanka the wealthiest country in the world are misleading and strip out the full context of his remarks.
In his full statement to Parliament, the MP said Cabinet approval had been granted for the Green Hydrogen project, and that as the country progresses through this project, it would become one of the richest, most beautiful countries in the world.
MP Ravindra Bandara said what he meant was that, through the Cabinet approval granted for the Green Hydrogen project, Sri Lanka would move toward the party’s stated policy objective of “a prosperous country, a beautiful life,” and that he never said Cabinet had approved making Sri Lanka the wealthiest country in the world.
Title: No Cabinet Was Granted for Making Sri Lanka the World’s Richest Country: NPP MP Ravindra’s Quote Was Taken Out of Context
Fact Check By: B.P Hansani
Result: Misleading
