 "Nirmala Sitharaman")
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday that India will work closely with Sri Lanka to deepen their civilisational ties, with connectivity as a new focus area. India, the Finance Minister said, continues to work closely with the government of Sri Lanka on debt restructuring discussions as well as on its path of economic recovery.
Addressing the 200 years of arrival of Indian-origin Tamils in Sri Lanka - NAAM 200 Event, the Finance Minister said that some of the connectivity projects that have already made progress include the commencement of passenger ferry services, negotiations on an economic and technological cooperation agreement, and the UPI-based digital payments, which will be launched very soon.
“We are working closely on other identified areas as well…As we enhance connectivity between the two countries, we build enduring bridges of experience and opportunities for our people…the Indian origin Tamils will continue to play an important role in shaping a shared future for our two countries,” Sitharaman said.
India, the Finance Minister said, had rendered an unprecedented financial assistance of over $4 billion for the people of Sri Lanka and was the first bilateral creditor to convey financing assurance to the International Monetary Fund.
“(It) paved the way for others to provide similar assurances that formalised the IMF programme for Sri Lanka,” Sitharaman said.
The Finance Minister highlighted that 3,700 houses have already been handed over to the plantation workers, under the India-backed housing project scheme, and the foundation stone for 10,000 houses under phase four of the programme had also been laid.
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Sitharaman also announced that India would soon send teacher trainers to work with local teachers to keep them abreast of the latest developments and also enhance the teaching skills in meeting the growing needs and aspirations of students from Malayaha Tamils.
“Our leaders have released a vision document for economic partnership in July this year, outlining specific areas of cooperation for sustainable economic development and prosperity for our people…Our Government will work closely with the Sri Lankan government in realising the vision provided by our leadership,” the Finance Minister said.
