Opportunity Sri Lanka | » Indian government doubles financial allocations for Sri Lanka in its 2018 Budget
Indian government doubles financial allocations for Sri Lanka in its 2018 Budget

Indian government doubles financial allocations for Sri Lanka in its 2018 Budget

The Indian media has reported that the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has adopted a quiet maritime strategic diplomacy by allocating large sums of money for key neighbouring countries resulting in Sri Lanka being allocated Indian Rupees (INR) 150 crore (over Sri Lanka Rs. 3.6 billion) for this year.

The Indian Express has reported that beneficiaries of the Modi government Budget are Seychelles, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and Maldives — all island nations in the strategic Indian Ocean region, where India is competing against China for influence.

A careful perusal of the Budget allocation for India’s Ministry of External Affairs has revealed that for Sri Lanka, the Modi government has allocated Indian Rupees (INR) 150 crore (over 3.6 billion Sri Lankan rupees), which is a double of last year.

India is moving for the reconstruction of Sri Lanka’s Kankesanthurai Port. These moves come even as Chinese firms have expanded their footprint in the Indian Ocean region with the Hambantota port project, near Colombo, and the under-construction Gwadar Port in Pakistan.

OSL take:

The decision by the Indian government to increase its budgetary allocations for Sri Lanka and its development programme indicates India’s need to further strengthen ties with its neighbor – Sri Lanka. The increase in bilateral engagement between the two countries would also result in the increase in trade and investment opportunities in Sri Lanka as well as India.

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Article Code : VBS/AT/20180205/Z_6

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