Page 25 - Sri Lanka

Expecting Sri Lankan prez's visit to impart momentum to bilateral ties: MEA

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday kicked off a two-day visit to India that is expected to impart a new momentum in bilateral ties, especially in the economic and trade sphere. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Wickremesinghe will hold wide-ranging talks on Friday covering all key aspects of relations between the two countries. It is the first visit to India by a Sri Lankan leader since the island nation reeled under a severe economic crises last year. "We Look forward to the visit to impart a new momentum to the relationship," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at his weekly media briefing. India extended financial assistance worth around USD 4 billion to Sri Lanka including lines of credit for purchases of food and fuel last year when it was hit by the economic crisis. New Delhi also provided guarantees to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help the country secure a USD 2.9 billion bailout package. In the evening, External Affairs

Expecting Lankan President's visit to impart new momentum to ties: MEA

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday kicked off a two-day visit to India that is expected to impart a new momentum in bilateral ties, especially in the economic and trade sphere. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Wickremesinghe will hold wide-ranging talks on Friday covering all key aspects of relations between the two countries. "We Look forward to the visit to impart a new momentum to the relationship," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at his weekly media briefing. India extended financial assistance worth around USD 4 billion to Sri Lanka including lines of credit for purchases of food and fuel last year when it was reeling under a severe economic crisis. New Delhi also provided guarantees to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help the country secure a USD 2.9 billion bailout package. "This is a very important visit. It (Sri Lanka) is a neighbouring country with whom we have very important and multi-faceted relations. I do not wan

Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe to visit India to further cement ties

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe will embark on a two-day official visit to India on Thursday for talks with the country's top leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to further advance and consolidate the bilateral relations. This will be Wickremesinghe's first visit to India after being appointed President of the cash-strapped country last year following the ouster of Gotabaya Rajapaksa in a people's uprising in July. President Wickremesinghe is undertaking the official visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sri Lanka's foreign ministry said in a statement this week. The visit takes place as both countries celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year. During the visit, President Wickremesinghe would meet his counterpart Droupadi Murmu and hold bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishanakar and other Indian dignitaries on a range of issues of mutual ...

Sri Lanka parliament passes anti-corruption bill without vote: Speaker

The legislation was passed without a vote in the 225-member parliament

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe to visit India this week

The visit will reinforce the longstanding friendship between the two countries and explore avenues for enhanced connectivity and mutually beneficial cooperation across sectors

India, Lanka committee holds meet; discusses strengthening connectivity

Joint Committee also identified a number of areas for mutual cooperation for the operationalization of ferry services in near future and desired to take further steps based on mutual understanding

Not averse to using Indian rupee as common currency: Lanka President

Sri Lanka would want to see the Indian rupee used as much as the US dollar, President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said, days ahead of his first official visit to New Delhi. Wickremesinghe, also the cash-strapped country's finance minister, made this remark while addressing the Indian CEO Forum here this week. Just as East Asia, including countries like Japan, Korea and China, witnessed significant growth 75 years ago, it is now India's turn, along with the Indian Ocean region," Wickremesinghe said. Wickremesinghe is expected to visit New Delhi next week, his first since becoming president a year ago amidst unprecedented economic and political turmoil in the island nation. Wickremesinghe's comments were in response to the chair of the Forum, T S Prakash, who in his address had called for the enhanced use of the Indian rupee in the Sri Lankan economy. It makes no difference to us if India (the Indian rupee) becomes a common currency. We will have to figure out how to go about it. We mu

Foreign Secy arrives in Colombo ahead of Sri Lankan Prez's India visit

Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra has arrived here on a two-day official visit to Sri Lanka to take stock of several Indian projects and make arrangements for Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe's upcoming trip to India. Kwatra landed at Bandaranaike International Airport here on Monday night. Officials said Kwatra would assess several Indian projects in multiple sectors which are in the pipeline and prepare the ground for Wickremesinghe's visit to India. Wickremesinghe will embark on a two-day visit to India on July 21 during which he is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, officials here said on Sunday. They said Wickremesinghe will finalise the implementation of several Indian projects related to power and energy, agriculture, and maritime issues in the island nation ahead of his departure for New Delhi. This will be Wickremesinghe's first visit to India after being appointed President of the cash-strapped country last year following the ouster of Gotabaya ...

Sri Lanka default: A bad bank would help the nation fix its finances

Before injecting fresh funds, the govt needs to take non-performing debt related to tourism, real estate and other troubled industries off banks' books

LIVE: Net direct tax collection grows 16% to Rs 4.75 trn, says I-T dept

Catch all the latest updates from across the globe

Daily flights from Chennai to Sri Lanka's Jaffna from July 16: Scindia

Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia has announced that the frequency of flights between Chennai and Sri Lanka's Jaffna will be increased from four times a week to daily services from July 16.The daily flights from Chennai to Jaffna will also amplify trade and commerce between India and Sri Lanka, Scindia noted.The Union Civil Aviation Minister made these remarks in a pre-recorded message on day-2 of the 67th Annual Convention of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), being hosted in Colombo.In his address, he underscored the strong cultural and trade relations between India and Sri Lanka."Delighted to virtually share my thoughts on the state of the Indian #aviation sector and its emergence as the key pillar of national progress at the 67th Annual Convention of @TAAI1951, Sri Lanka. Also highlighted the strong cultural and trade ties between India & Sri Lanka that have been marked by cooperation in the field of commerce, infrastructure development and ...

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe to visit India on July 21

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe will embark on a two-day visit to India on July 21 during which he is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, officials here said on Sunday. This will be Wickremesinghe's first visit to India since being appointed President of the cash-strapped country last year following the ouster of Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in a people's uprising in July. Wickremesinghe was appointed President for the balance term of Rajapaksa till September 2024. India's Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra will arrive in Sri Lanka early next week to work out the arrangements for Wickremesinghe's visit to New Delhi, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported on Saturday. According to officials, Wickremesinghe is expected to meet Prime Minister Modi during his two-day visit to India. Officials said Wickremesinghe will finalise the implementation of several Indian projects related to power and energy, agriculture, and maritime issues in the island nation ahead of his departure

15 Indian fishermen arrested for poaching in Lanka's territorial waters

The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 15 Indian fishermen on board two trawlers for allegedly poaching in the country's territorial waters, according to an official statement on Sunday. The Sri Lanka Navy and coast guard conducted a special operation to chase away Indian trawlers engaged in illegal fishing in Sri Lanka on the night of July 8," the Sri Lanka Navy said in a statement. The operation off the Delft Island in Jaffna led to the arrest of 15 Indian nationals, it said. The seized trawlers along with the arrested fishermen were brought to the Kankesanthurai Harbour and handed over to the Mailadi Fisheries Inspector for onward legal proceedings, it said. Last month, the Sri Lankan Navy arrested 22 Indian fishermen belonging to the state of Tamil Nadu for illegal poaching. So far in 2023, Sri Lanka Navy has seized 12 Indian poaching trawlers and arrested 74 Indian fishermen in island waters this year and handed them over to authorities for legal action, the statement added. The .

Indian travel association to help in boosting tourist flow to Sri Lanka

A leading travel-related association of India has resolved to help Sri Lanka in reviving its tourism sector by promoting the flow of tourists to the island nation that is making comprehensive efforts to recover from the devastating economic crisis last year. The three-day Indian Travel Congress, which was held in Colombo as part of the 67th convention of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), concluded on Saturday with a dazzling display of fireworks, gala dinner and music and dance performances with many famous Bollywood numbers sang in Sinhala language by performers. "We are both alike, India and Sri Lanka, our food, language, culture and dresses, and tourism builds bridges between two communities and two countries, and we at TAAI support Sri Lanka in its efforts to revive tourism, above and beyond this convention," Jyoti Mayal, the President of the 72-year-old TAAI, said in her address. After her address on Saturday night, she asked TAAI delegates to take a pledge that ea

India will continue to support Sri Lanka in overcoming its financial crisis

India has reiterated its willingness to play "a constructive role" in supporting Sri Lanka's efforts for recovery from the worst economic crisis. Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Construction, Power and Energy Expo 2023 in Colombo on Friday, India's Deputy High Commissioner Vinod K Jacob said that recent developments in India-Sri Lanka ties have strengthened the friendship and all-around cooperation between the two countries. We were the first creditor nation in January this year to convey the financing assurances needed to kick start the IMF process. India will continue to play a constructive role as a Co-Chair of the Creditors Committee along with Japan and the Paris Club, he said. India in January this year became the first country to hand over its letter of support for financing and debt restructuring of Sri Lanka to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In May this year, 17 countries that have extended loans to Sri Lanka formed an official creditor committee' ...

Sri Lanka's speaker thanks India for help during financial crisis

Expressing his gratitude to "trustworthy friend" India for saving Sri Lanka and preventing a "bloodbath" during its unprecedented economic crisis last year, Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena has said that not a single nation has extended that kind of assistance to Colombo as done by New Delhi. Sri Lanka was hit by a catastrophic financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves. As the country struggled, locked in the throes of the crisis, India extended multi-pronged assistance of about USD 4 billion to it last year, through multiple credit lines and currency support, in line with India's Neighbourhood First' policy. In his address at the gala dinner reception hosted for delegates of the Indian Travel Congress here on Friday, Abeywardena said India "saved us" during the financial crisis, otherwise, there would have been "another bloodbath for all of us". At the evening reception, he thank

Lankan Speaker thanks India for help amid crisis, says 'you saved us'

Describing New Delhi as a "close associate" and a "trustworthy friend" of Colombo, Sri Lanka's Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on Friday thanked India for the financial assistance it extended to the island nation when it reeled under an unprecedented economic crisis last year. Sri Lanka was hit by a catastrophic financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves. As the country struggled, locked in the throes of the crisis, India extended multi-pronged assistance of about USD 4 billion to it last year, through multiple credit lines and currency support, in line with India's Neighbourhood First' policy. In his address at the gala dinner reception hosted for delegates of the Indian Travel Congress here, Abeywardena said that India "saved us" during the financial crisis otherwise, there would have been "another bloodbath for all of us". At the evening reception, the Speaker thanked India for

Sri Lanka's central bank reduces interest rates for second time in a month

Sri Lanka's central bank on Thursday announced a reduction in the interest rates aimed at enabling the cash-strapped island nation's economy to reach its potential and easing pressures in the financial markets. A statement from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka said the deposit facility rate and the lending facility rates were reduced by 200 basis points to 11 and 12 per cent. This is aimed at enabling the economy to reach its potential and stabilising inflation at mid-single digit levels in the medium term while easing pressures in the financial markets, the statement said. Accordingly, the banking and financial sector is urged to pass on the benefits of this significant easing of monetary policy by the central bank to individuals and businesses, thereby supporting economic activities to rebound in the period ahead, the statement added. This is the second policy interest rate reduction as the central bank in early June brought down policy interest rates -- the first such in three ...

Sri Lanka gets parliamentary nod for domestic debt restructuring plan

A special session of Sri Lanka's Parliament on Saturday overwhelmingly approved the cash-strapped government's domestic debt restructuring (DDR) plan, a vital element in the bankrupt nation's bid for recovery from the worst economic crisis. Domestic debt restructuring (DDR) is a key condition in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, through which a bailout package of USD 3 billion was approved for Sri Lanka in March. The IMF programme unlocks more help from international funding agencies. Accordingly, the World Bank, earlier this week, approved USD 700 million in financing as budgetary and welfare support for Sri Lanka, which is facing its worst economic crisis since it won independence from the British in 1948. The DDR plan won parliamentary approval with 122 lawmakers voting for it while 62 going against it. After a 10-hour marathon debate, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena opted to take the vote ending the debate at 7.30 pm. The approval of the DDR came as members fr

Boat service between Sri Lanka, India to be delayed further: Lanka Minister

The much-anticipated passenger boat service between India and Sri Lanka will be further delayed after New Delhi changed the port chosen for the boat service, a senior minister said here on Saturday. The boast service was to begin in April. Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva said the commencement of passenger boat service between India and Sri Lanka will be delayed, Newsfirst Lanka reported. The minister said that India has changed the port it had chosen for the boat service. India has requested a few more days to increase the facilities at the Nagapatnam port in Tamil Nadu which has been selected for that purpose, the Minister was quoted as saying by the report. Earlier the minister said the ferry service between Karaikal in Puducherry and Kankesanthurai in port in Jaffna district in Sri Lanka would begin on April 29. The construction of a 1,000 square metre passenger terminal for immigration and customs clearance of travellers who intend to use the