Sri Lanka and China reach agreement on economic and technical cooperation
Sri Lanka and China have recently reached an agreement on economic and technical cooperation between the two countries by providing RMB 600 million (Rs. 16.5 billion) in grant assistance.
According to local media reports, the agreement was signed by China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) Chairman Wang Xiaotao and Sri Lanka’s Treasury Secretary S.R. Attygalle on the sidelines of the CPC Member of Political Bureau Yang Jiechi’s visit to Sri Lanka last week.
Both Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa have reportedly extended their sincere appreciation on behalf of the Government and people to the Chinese side for this urgently-needed assistance.
Mutually agreed by both sides, the timely grant from the Chinese Government and her people will be utilised with a high priority for medical care, education, water supply, etc., in rural areas of Sri Lanka, so as to contribute to the well-being of her people in a post-COVID era, the Daily FT reported.
During the meeting, Yang Jiechi and Premier Rajapaksa had gone through other Chinese grant projects, such as the National Nephrology (Kidney Disease) Hospital in Polonnaruwa and the new Out-Patient Department (OPD) of the National Hospital in Colombo, etc., and expressed their satisfaction with the good progress despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
OSL take:
Bilateral and trade ties between Sri Lanka and China have been systematically strengthened during the past few years. Sri Lanka also figures very prominently in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) resulting in many Chinese financing and investments targeting the island. Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean, ease of doing business environment and the many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the country have made it a business hub in the South Asian region. Given Sri Lanka’s close ties with China, Chinese businesses/investors could explore business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka and vice versa. Also, foreign businesses interested in doing business with China can look at making Sri Lanka the base to do business with China.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/19102020/Z_1 |