India extends new funding, inks G2G agreement to boost Sri Lanka’s economy
Daily FT: The Government of India has reaffirmed its commitment to furthering the development agenda in Sri Lanka.
This commitment materialized through the allocation of additional funds to expedite the progress of nine ongoing development projects in the country, all of which are backed by the Government of India.
A formal agreement solidifying this initiative was signed yesterday in Colombo.
The signing ceremony witnessed the presence of Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay, Union Secretaries of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs Puneeth Agrawal and J.P. Singh, Indian Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Dr. Satyanjal Pandey, and Indian Ministry of External Affairs Deputy Secretary Raghu Puri. Representing Sri Lanka were Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabri PC, Minister Jeevan Thondaman, State Minister Tenuka Widanagamage, and MP M. Rameswaran.
The projects include a wide spectrum of initiatives such as modernization of 27 schools in the Northern Province, housing projects in Mannar and Anuradhapura, and improvements to the Hatton Thondaman Vocational Training Centre and Pussellawa Saraswati Central College. Additionally, a multi-ethnic trilingual school is slated for construction in Polonnaruwa, along with the establishment of 2,889 rainwater harvesting projects in the Jaffna region. Efforts to promote vegetable cultivation in Dambulla and the construction of greenhouse facilities with a capacity of 5,000 tons for fruit preservation are also on the agenda. A new surgical unit for the Batticaloa Teaching Hospital will be swiftly built to boost the healthcare sector.
In addition, a landmark agreement was reached involving the Indian National Dairy Development Board, the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation of India (Amul), and the Cargills (Ceylon) PLC.
This partnership aims to advance Sri Lanka’s local dairy industry, a strategic move prompted by President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s official visit to India and the allocation of funding for the modernization of Sri Lanka’s livestock sector.
The main aim of this initiative is to strengthen milk production by an impressive 53% within the first five years, ultimately achieving self-sufficiency in milk production for Sri Lanka within 15 years.
This initiative anticipates empowering around 200,000 local farmers through the provision of high-quality medicines, animal nutrition, and technical support.
Furthermore, this collaborative effort will drive the digitalization of the livestock sector, infuse investments in cutting-edge technologies to enhance the quality of milk-related by-products and ensure access to milk-related products at affordable prices.
In a nod to the longstanding and robust ties between India and Sri Lanka, a special commemorative logo was also unveiled to mark the 75 years of their bilateral relations.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka and India enjoy strong bilateral and trade ties through the years with an operational free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries. India is also a key development partner of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean and the many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the country have boosted the country’s chances of becoming an emerging business destination in the South Asian region. These factors in turn have expanded economic activities in Sri Lanka and have also created new business/investment opportunities for foreign businesses/investors. It is in such a backdrop that India has expressed its intentions of partnering with Sri Lanka on several key projects in the country. There are also many Indian businesses that have entered Sri Lanka through the years and have recorded growth and profits as well. Given the success of Indian businesses in Sri Lanka, more Indian businesses/investors could explore business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka. Indian businesses while exploring opportunities in Sri Lanka, especially in Indian funded projects in the country, could also look at forming partnerships or joint ventures with local businesses with the aim of further expansion.
Article Code : | VBS/AT/20231023/Z_3 |