India to partner SL President’s vision of ensuring 70% of nations power using renewable energy

India becomes the first country to partner with Sri Lanka in fulfilling the vision of the President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to ensure that 70 percent of Sri Lanka’s national power requirements are fulfilled by renewable energy sources by 2030, as reiterated during his address at the recently concluded Sri Lanka Investment Forum.

A statement from the Indian High Commission said an agreement extending a US$ 100 million Line of Credit (LOC) to Sri Lanka for projects in the Solar Energy Sector, signed between the Sri Lankan government and the Export-Import Bank of India, was exchanged by Indian High Commissioner of India Gopal Baglay and the Secretary to the Treasury, S.R.Attygalle, in the presence of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday.   
The US$100 million LOC will help finance various projects in the solar energy sector in Sri Lanka, including those announced during the Founding Conference of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) held in March 2018, such as rooftop solar photo-voltaic systems for households and government buildings.   

It may be recalled that 89 countries, including Sri Lanka, have signed the Framework Agreement of the ISA, which was jointly launched by the Prime Minister of India and the President of France, to bring together countries to promote large-scale deployment of solar energy and overcome challenges related to technology, finance and capacity.