Sri Lankan receives US$ 450 million from India for infrastructure development and to boost security
The government of India last week offered Sri Lanka a US$ 450 million to build infrastructure and boost security during Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s maiden official foreign visit to neighbouring India to meet Indian President Ram Nath and the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
President Rajapaksa said he will strive to elevate Indo – Sri Lanka relations to the highest level possible during his tenure of office, a statement from the President’s Office has stated.
“We held very fruitful talks. I assured Sri Lankan president of India’s help in overall development of the country,” Modi was quoted in Indian media as saying after meeting Rajapaksa.
India has offered a US$ 400 million credit line to Sri Lanka to develop infrastructure and another US$ 50 million has been offered to boost anti-terror activities.
Sri Lanka’s railways especially after the end of a 30-year war have been mainly funded by the government of India.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka and India enjoy strong bilateral and trade ties that have been further boosted by a free trade agreement (FTA). India is currently one of the key foreign lenders to Sri Lanka and is also one of its strong development partners. Sri Lanka recently opened the Jaffna International Airport in the country’s northern peninsula in order to further boost trade and tourism ties between the two countries. Indian businesses could therefore confidently explore business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka and vice versa. Also, foreign businesses looking at doing business with India could explore the possibility of setting up base in Sri Lanka and reaching out to the Indian market using preferential treatment meted out to businesses in Sri Lanka.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/04122019/Z_3 |