Page 30 - Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka considers exporting 100,000 endangered monkeys to China

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka is exploring the possibility of exporting 1,00,000 endangered monkeys to China, one of its largest bilateral lenders, the agriculture minister has said. The toque macaque is endemic to Sri Lanka and classified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list. Sri Lanka's agriculture minister Mahinda Amaraweera has asked officials to study China's request to procure toque macaques, news portal Economy Next reported on Wednesday. They want these monkeys for their zoos, the minister was quoted as saying. The minister said the request for 1,00,000 monkeys to be exhibited at over 1,000 Chinese zoos could be considered, given the large macaque population in the country, the report said. No financial details were made available so far, it added. A special discussion was held on Tuesday on dispatching monkeys to China under the first phase of the programme, the Ada Derana news portal reported. The discussion headed by Minister .

Japan, France and India to launch platform to coordinate Sri Lanka debt

Sri Lanka last month secured a $2.9 billion programme from the International Monetary Fund to tackle its suffocating debt burden and its worst economic crisis in more than seven decades

Sitharaman, Japanese counterpart to announce Sri Lanka debt restructuring

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will join her Japanese counterpart and a senior French finance ministry official in Washington on Thursday to announce Sri Lanka's debt restructuring negotiations process, the IMF has announced. The finance ministers of the three creditor countries will hold a press briefing on the margins of the annual Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington. "Japan, India, and France on Thursday will hold a press briefing on the margins of the Spring meetings to announce the launch of the debt restructuring negotiations process on Sri Lanka," IMF said on Tuesday, quoting a Japanese Finance Ministry statement. The three creditor countries have been working closely for a coordinated debt restructuring for Sri Lanka, the statement said. Japanese finance minister Shunichi Suzuki and France's Director General of the Treasury Emmanuel Moulin will join Sitharaman during the press briefing. Sri Lankan President R

China will support Sri Lanka's debt rework, says Central bank governor

The IMF on March 20 approved a $3 billion loan for the island nation to help bail it out of the worst economic crisis in decades

US has no plans of setting up military base in Sri Lanka: US Envoy Chung

The US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie J Chung has said that Washington has no intention of building a military base in Sri Lanka and hailed it as an "important country" in the strategically vital Indo-Pacific region. Chung's comments came weeks after senior US defence officials arrived here on two special aircraft of the United States Air Force. The visit in February sparked speculation that the US was planning to set up a military base in Sri Lanka. Chung put the speculation to rest in an interview with the Daily Mirror newspaper on Monday. "In terms of the military base, I have said this repeatedly, we have no intention of building a military base (in Sri Lanka)," she said. Chung also said that Washington has "no intention of reviving or reassessing the SOFA Agreement." The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) was signed in 1995. These are multilateral or bilateral agreements that establish the framework under which the US military personnel operate in a foreign country and how th

SL seeks relaxation of travel advisories to facilitate tourist arrivals

Amid the ongoing economic crisis, Sri Lanka witnessed an increase from tourism earnings with around $530 million being received in the first three months of 2023

Sri Lanka delays presenting new Anti-Terror Bill amid fresh opposition

Sri Lanka's Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe on Thursday announced that the presentation of the new anti-terrorism Bill that would replace a draconian counter-terrorism law in parliament would be delayed further, a day after a powerful body of lawyers said it would not hesitate to challenge any legislation that would undermine the rule of law and the liberty of the citizens. The new Anti Terrorism Act (ATA) will replace the much maligned Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) of 1979. On April 1, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told reporters that the new counter terrorism law will be introduced later this month. However, the justice minister on Thursday said the bill would be delayed to either late April or early May. Sri Lanka is replacing the PTA with a new legislation called the Anti Terrorism Act (ATA) after the former law was roundly condemned for its draconian nature where people were allowed to be detained without being charged for indefinite periods of time. Sri Lanka .

SL to finalise negotiations with creditors before 1st review of IMF bailout

Sri Lanka has received the first tranche of about $330 million from the IMF, and this has not only eased liquidity conditions in the domestic foreign currency market

Sri Lankan economy projected to contract by 4.3%, says World Bank

The Covid-19 pandemic, rising energy prices, populist tax cuts and inflation of more than 50 per cent has battered Sri Lanka

SL central bank maintains current interest rates to continue disinflation

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka announced a decision to maintain its Standing Deposit Facility Rate and Standing Lending Facility Rate at the current level of 15.50 per cent and 16.50 per cent

India hopes for SL's early recovery from economic crisis: Commissioner

India on Tuesday expressed hope that Sri Lanka would soon achieve early economic recovery, with the Indian Deputy High Commissioner here, reaffirming New Delhi's steadfast support to the island nation through the crisis. Sri Lanka has been struck by a catastrophic economic and humanitarian crisis sparked by years of mismanagement and the raging pandemic. Vinod K Jacob, the Deputy High Commissioner of India, speaking at the Coordination Forum of Development Partners of Sri Lanka, said that "India had steadfastly supported the people of Sri Lanka through the economic crisis as well as at the IMF," a press release by the Indian High Commission in Colombo said. Jacob expressed hope that Sri Lanka will achieve early economic recovery. Explaining the flagship development cooperation partnership between Delhi and Colombo, the Deputy High Commissioner said that the engagement was based on the principles of South-South cooperation between friendly neighbours. The projects are selected in l

Sri Lanka key rate 2-decade high at 16.5% after clinching IMF loan

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka kept the standing lending facility rate unchanged at 16.5%, according to a statement on its website on Tuesday

Sri Lanka's inflation drops further to 50.3% amid ongoing economic crisis

The country's central bank said that inflation will be reduced to single digit by the end of the year

First stock of eggs imported from India sold in Sri Lankan market

The first stock of eggs imported from India by Sri Lanka was distributed to the crisis-hit island nation's market, with one egg costing Rs 35 to bakery owners, a media report said on Friday. Sri Lanka imported two million eggs from India to ensure food security in the crisis-hit island nation, Trade and Food Safety Minister Nalin Fernando said last week. The decision to import eggs was based on a decision by a cabinet committee to ensure food security, Fernando said on March 23. This stock of eggs imported by Sri Lanka's State Trading (General) Corporation was distributed among bakery owners on Thursday at the Kerawalapitiya Spet R. Warehouse Complex, the official Daily News reported. All-Ceylon Bakery Owners' Association President N. K. Jayawardena said that one million eggs were given to bakery owners at Rs 35 per egg. He said that this stock of eggs imported from India had been brought to Sri Lanka subject to approvals of all relevant government institutions. The date of ...

Sri Lanka to opt for domestic debt restructuring post-IMF bailout: Govt

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka is exploring the options for domestic debt restructuring in the post-IMF bailout scenario to further stabilise its shaken economy, an official statement said on Friday. Sri Lanka received USD 330 million this month as the first tranche of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme, which will pave the way for the debt-ridden country to achieve better "fiscal discipline" and "improved governance. In a statement issued by the Sri Lankan government after making an investor presentation on Thursday, the Governor of the Central Bank and the Secretary to the Treasury said the Authorities are also exploring options for a domestic debt optimisation (DDO) operation aimed at liquidity relief while preserving financial stability to avoid further eroding of Sri Lanka's repayment capacity. The statement outlined that despite the ambitious fiscal consolidation efforts, Sri Lanka's public debt trajectory is set to remain unsustainable in the absence of ...

India will help Sri Lanka in oil sector despite recent changes: Officials

Colombo awards licences to three foreign firms, including a Chinese one, to operate in retail fuel market

Supporting Ukraine

New IMF loan raises questions

Heavy rain washes out second ODI between New Zealand and Sri Lanka

The second one-day cricket international between New Zealand and Sri Lanka was abandoned Tuesday because of rain. Heavy rain fell throughout the day and by the scheduled start of 2 p.m. local time, the covers were on and large pools of water already had formed in the outfield. Umpires made the decision to abandon the match after a ground inspection at 4:25 p.m. local time. The latest a match could start was 7:02 p.m. but it already was clear that with rain still falling a large puddles in some parts of Hagley Oval, no play would be possible. New Zealand leads the three-match series after winning the first match at Eden Park on Saturday by 198 runs. The third match is at Hamilton's Seddon Park on Friday.

Indian delegation calls on Wickremesinghe for alliance in energy sector

A high-level Indian delegation called on Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe here on Sunday and briefed him on the developments in the jointly-identified priority areas for collaboration in the energy sector. President Wickremesinghe provided his insights on the early implementation of these initiatives, the Indian High Commission in Colombo said. It said India would gift Sri Lanka 500 solar-powered indoor cooking systems. The Lanka India Oil Company (LIOC), the local operator of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), said the visiting Secretary to the ministry of power and natural gas Pankaj Jain and Chairman IOC Shrikant Madhav Vaidya had earlier visited the Trincomalee eastern Sri Lanka's IOC terminal. Sri Lanka and India run a joint venture storing fuel in the World War II time storage tanks in Trincomalee. Jain had inaugurated three new LIOC retail fuel sheds in their ongoing expansion whilst addressing the chamber of commerce and attended a meeting of chief executive officers

Sri Lanka, India to begin passenger ferry service by end of April

The much-delayed passenger ferry service between Sri Lanka and India is set to start by the end of April, Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said on Sunday. On April 29, the ferry service between Karaikal and Kankesanthurai in port in Jaffna district would begin. Each passenger would be allowed a 100 kg baggage allowance at a very concessionary rate," the minister said. De Silva said the opportunity would be open to any passenger ferry operator of both countries to run the service. A passenger terminal is being built by the Sri Lanka Navy at Kankesanthurai. The service would be a four-hour-long voyage, the Aviation Ministry here said.