US to allocate funds in its 2020 budget to support Sri Lanka’s economic development
The US Department of State’s FY 2020 budget has reportedly requested a total of US$ 32.58 million to support Sri Lanka’s economic development, demining and border control programmes.
US President Donald Trump upholding his commitment to protect the country and put American interests first, has requested US$ 40 billion for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Department of State and US Agency for International Development (USAID) budget.
According to media reports, the proposed FY 2020 Budget requests US$ 27.2 million under the Economic Support and Development Fund (ESDF). Programmes under the ESDF will help countries of strategic importance meet near and long term political, economic, development, and security needs.
Under the Non-proliferation, Anti-Terrorism, Demining and Related Programmes, the FY 2020 Budget seeks US$ 5 million for Conventional Weapons Destruction which include humanitarian demining, small arms/light weapons (SA/LW) destruction, and efforts to improve the safety and storage of conventional munitions stockpiles, reports have noted.
Under the CWD programme, the assistance will support efforts to safely and efficiently identify, remove, and neutralise remaining landmines and unexploded ordnance in contaminated areas in north and east Sri Lanka, reports have added.
The proposed FY 2020 Budget has requested US$ 380,000 for Sri Lanka under the Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) Programme.
The EXBS Programme is designed to help countries develop and improve their strategic trade and related border control systems. The EXBS Programme provides a wide range of technical assistance, from executive exchanges to training workshops to the provision of detection equipment and specialised training for border control and enforcement agencies.
OSL take:
The US State Department’s move to request for funds in the FY 2020 for Sri Lanka’s economic development, demining and border control programmes indicates the strong bilateral and trade ties between Sri Lanka and the US. Sri Lanka already enjoys the US GSP trade concessions and the US has continuously played an active role as a development partner of the island nation. Given the continuous partnerships between the two countries, US companies/investors could explore business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka and vice versa. US companies could explore opportunities to provide technical assistance and supplementary development programmes to the ongoing projects in Sri Lanka.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/14032019/Z_2 |