4 November 2023 12:00 am Views - 100
By Kelum Bandara
The US $ 15 million grant committed by India in 2020 for the promotion of Buddhist ties between the two countries has been recalibrated to Indian rupees (INR) to suit the latest market developments, Daily Mirror learns
The bilateral documents were exchanged in the presence of President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Finance Minister of India Nirmala Sitharaman who was in Sri Lanka.
The grant was announced in 2020 in US dollar terms, but the value of Sri Lankan currency has depreciated drastically since then.
“The total value of the grant in terms of Sri Lankan rupee terms is much less today because of the currency depreciation. There are other changes in market conditions since then. Therefore, the grant was recalibrated to INR,” a source said.
Besides, during the visit, the MoU on solar electrification of places of religious worship across Sri Lanka with a grant allocation of USD 10 million was also exchanged.
Meanwhile, the Indian Minister, in his speech at the Public Commemorative Event for the 200th Anniversary of Arrival of Indian Origin Tamils in Sri Lanka, said India rendered unprecedented financial assistance of over US $ 4 billion for the people of Sri Lanka.
“We were the first bilateral creditor to convey financing assurance to the International Monetary Fund, which paved the way for others to provide similar assurances that formalised the IMF programme for Sri Lanka. As a true friend, India continues to work closely with the Government of Sri Lanka on debt restructuring discussions as well as on its path to economic recovery.
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,” he said.