Sri Lankan Prime Minister says government looking at attracting more Chinese investments to promote economic development
Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe has said his government will work with China to accelerate ongoing projects and attract more Chinese investment in order to promote economic and social development in the island country, the Indian media has reported.
According to a report on IANS, in a recent discussion with Chinese ambassador to Sri Lanka Cheng Xueyuan, Wickremesinghe has said Sri Lanka had always strongly supported the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, the Chinese embassy in Colombo said yesterday.
The Prime Minister has added that his government attached great importance to mega-projects co-operation with China, especially the Hambantota Port, the Industrial Park in southern Sri Lanka and the Colombo Port City in the capital.
Ambassador Cheng has reiterated that China wished to implement the important consensus reached by leaders of the two countries to actively push forward the practical co-operation under the Belt and Road Initiative, so as to bring tangible benefits to the two countries and peoples.
The Indian media has also reported the Ambassador as saying that China is willing to work with Sri Lanka to push forward the latter’s economic and social development, and promote a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness and justice, and win-win co-operation.
OSL take:
The Sri Lankan government’s commitment to attract more Chinese investments to the country while expediting the existing Chinese funded projects in the island nation would open up a host of investment opportunities in line with the country’s development agenda. Local companies could reach out to Chinese investors to form partnerships to invest in development projects in Sri Lanka. Also, given the move by the Sri Lankan and Chinese government’s to reach a free trade agreement (FTA) between the countries, it would serve well for Chinese businessmen/investors to set up base in Sri Lanka to carry out their businesses in South Asia.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/26042018/Z_15 |