Japanese Premier says would work to provide more grants instead of loans for development work in Sri Lanka
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has reportedly stated that he would work towards providing grants instead of loans whenever possible while providing assistance to the development programmes in Sri Lanka.
These sentiments were expressed by the Prime Minister during an official meeting between the Japanese Prime Minister and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena last week during the latter’s state visit to Japan.
The Japanese Prime Minister has also ensured President Sirisena that he would constantly provide assistance for the development of infrastructure in Sri Lankan.
According to reports, the development of ports will be prioritised and discussions were held regarding the assistance provided by the Japanese government for the development of the Colombo-Trincomalee port.
Abe has also stated that assistance will be provided for regenerating energy resources and would also contribute in developing the highway systems. The Premier has added that assistance of special technical programmes of Japan could be provided to Sri Lanka.
The Japanese Prime Minister has also responded positively to the request made by President Sirisena to provide technical equipment for the development of the health sector in Sri Lanka and has agreed on providing assistance to disaster management programmes as well as waste disposal systems in Sri Lanka.
Abe has also mentioned the assistance given by Japan in the field of security and Navy activities, adding that only Sri Lanka was fortunate to gain this assistance from Japan out of the countries in the Indian Ocean.
President Sirisena has thanked both the Japanese Prime Minister as well as the government of Japan for being a strong partner of Sri Lanka.
During the meeting, discussions were also held on developing the economy as well as trade ties between two countries where the President showed the importance of the contribution of both public and private sectors in making investments within Sri Lanka.
OSL take:
The statements made by the Japanese Prime Minister during the meeting with the Sri Lankan President clearly indicate the continuously developing relations between the two countries. The close ties between Sri Lanka and Japan would undoubtedly strengthen the Sri Lankan economy. It would also open up many business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka for foreign businesses/investors. Since the Japanese are committed to looking at options to provide more grants to Sri Lanka for development projects, the opportunity could be seized to canvas for funding by foreign companies to engage in development programmes in Sri Lanka.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20180319/Z_4 |