Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka : News & DIscussions
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India provided nearly $4 billion in food, financial assistance to Sri Lanka
India on Sunday highlighted its constructive and significant role in human-centric globalization at the United Nations General Assembly and said that it had provided nearly USD 4 billion in food and financial assistance to Sri Lanka.At a UNGA Annual Joint Debate on the Reports of Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) and Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj said, "In our immediate neighbourhood, we are continuing to help our good friend and neighbour Sri Lanka to ensure food security by providing nearly USD 4 billion in food and financial assistance during the past few months."
Speaking about the India-UN Development Partnership Fund which was established in 2017, she said that in a short span of five years, the Fund has developed a portfolio of 66 development projects in partnership with 51 developing countries, including 17 countries in Africa, focusing on South-owned, South-led, demand-driven Sustainable Development Projects (SDGs).
Since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict, in order to mitigate the adverse effects of the destruction of food and commodity supply chains, India has also been providing financial and food assistance to countries in need.
India has always played a constructive and significant role in the context of peacebuilding through its extensive development partnership with countries of the Global South.
"We continue to assist countries through bilateral and multilateral fora in post-conflict situations by providing substantial grants and soft loans. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, India stood in solidarity with the Global South, further strengthening existing developmental partnerships guided by Kampala Principles enunciated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July 2018 during his address to the Ugandan Parliament. A total of 204 line of credit (LoC's) to the tune of more than USD 12 billion have been extended by India to 42 African countries," said the Indian Ambassador to the UN.
Talking about PBC, she said that the world today has come to a better grasp of complex and interlinked facets of peacebuilding.
The world today has come to a better grasp of complex and interlinked facets of peacebuilding. The global perspective on addressing conflicts has undergone a massive shift from resolution, reconciliation, and recovery to prevention and reconstruction, thereby making peacebuilding a critical pillar in our collective response to conflict situations.
India, as one of the leading troop and police-contributing countries to UN Peacekeeping Missions, has been an active member of PBC since its inception.
Speaking on Indian contributions to peacebuilding efforts, Kamboj said, "We have more than 5, 500 personnel deployed across 9 Missions, serving under the blue flag, 177 gallant Indian soldiers have made the supreme sacrifice, the largest number among the troops contributing and police-contributing countries."
She also congratulated Bangladesh for Chairing the Peacebuilding Commissions (PBC) since February and thanked Egypt for its contribution to PBC initiatives.
Kamboj further presented three submissions to enhance support and increased focus from member-states in fulfilling PBC and PBF mandates.
"1) we continue to underscore the importance of the cardinal principle of inclusivity in order to advance national peacebuilding objectives. Thus, an exclusively donor-driven approach to peacebuilding would not be the most prudent part to follow, 2) the ongoing discourse on enhanced financial support for peacebuilding activities through sources other than voluntary contributions merits an in-depth and careful study of its ramifications on the UN ecosystem, any decision to that effect must be consensus-based. Furthermore, the PBC should exercise its convening role more effectively, 3) it is important to set clear benchmarks and criteria for an exit-strategy in the country under consideration, peacebuilding advocacy by PBC needs to draw down when such criteria are met," said the Indian envoy.
Kamboj also reiterated that India will continue to be a force-multiplier in all peacebuilding efforts, driven very much by this human-centric approach.
Quoting PM Modi, she said, "Let us pledge to reform the global multilateral system to enhance its relevance, to improve its effectiveness, to make it a basis for a new type of human-centric globalization.
India provided nearly $4 billion in food, financial assistance to Sri Lanka
India has always played a constructive and significant role in the context of peacebuilding through its extensive development partnership with countries of the Global South
Don’t obstruct India-backed projects, says Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday advised officials to act immediately and amend government circulars if they impede Indian investment projects in the cash-strapped island nation. He asked officials to resolve obstacles to projects backed by India, a government statement said, without specifying what the obstacles were.President Ranil Wickremesinghe chaired a discussion on the progress of several development projects under Indian investment, and told officials "to take steps to resolve the obstacles that have arisen in the progress of several projects in Sri Lanka under Indian investments".
India has offered support of billions of dollars this year to its southern neighbour, which is facing its worst economic crisis in more than a decade.
Don’t obstruct India-backed projects, says Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe
Sri Lanka‘s President asked officials to resolve obstacles to projects backed by India, a government statement said, without specifying what the obstacles were
In dig at China, India highlights Lanka’s debt-driven crisis - Times of India
In a dig also at China, the government said that the economic crisis in Sri Lanka had demonstrated the limitations of debt-driven economy and the impact it has on the standard of living. India this year alone has extended assistance worth $3. 8 billion to Lanka to help it deal with the crisis.
m.timesofindia.com
India emerges as Sri Lanka's top lender in 2022, think tank report says
India has emerged as the top lender to Sri Lanka in 2022, disbursing USD 377 million in loans to the island nation as it grappled with an unprecedented political crisis and economic turmoil, according to the Verite Research think-tank.The Asian Development Bank follows India with USD 360 million in loans. They account for 76 per cent of total disbursements from January to April 2022.
Out of a total disbursement of loans amounting to USD 968 million in the first four months this year, India with a contribution of USD 377 million has emerged as Sri Lanka's largest bilateral lender, Verite Research, a Colombo-based independent interdisciplinary think-tank providing strategic analysis and advice for governments and the private sector in Asia, said.
Between 2017 and 2021, China has been the largest bilateral lender to Sri Lanka. In 2021, China had provided USD 947 million of which USD 809 million were borrowings from the China Development Bank.
The ADB has been the largest multilateral lender during the same period.
When Sri Lanka plunged into its worst economic crisis at the beginning of this year, India's credit lines enabled it to purchase fuel and essentials.
The Indian High Commission here announced that India's total credit support to Sri Lanka this year, including currency swaps, amounts to nearly USD 4 billion.
The public protests since the end of March due to economic hardships and shortages of essentials saw the ouster of the former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in mid-July.
India provided a dedicated credit line for fuel imports amounting to USD 700 million which ran out in late June, leaving large fuel queues at Indian Oil Company fuel retail stations. The state fuel entity was only supplying fuel to emergency services then.
Sri Lanka has recently secured a deal with the IMF for a USD 2.9 billion loan facility which is subject to Sri Lanka and its creditors agreeing to debt restructuring.
In mid-April, Sri Lanka declared its international debt default due to the forex crisis.
The country owes USD 51 billion in foreign debt, of which USD 28 billion must be paid by 2027.
India emerges as Sri Lanka's top lender in 2022, think tank report says
India has emerged as the top lender to Sri Lanka in 2022, disbursing USD 377 million in loans to the island nation as it grappled with an unprecedented political crisis and economic turmoil, according to the Verite Research think-tank.
India frowns at Colombo for mid-sea refuelling of Chinese warships
Both US and India had clearly told Colombo not to allow docking of Chinese military vessels and strategic surveillance ships on its ports after the Ranil Wickremesinghe government allowed Chinese ballistic missile tracking ship Wang Yuan 5 to dock at Hambantota despite India red-flagging the move.
www.hindustantimes.com
India frowns at Colombo for mid-sea refuelling of Chinese warships
Both US and India had clearly told Colombo not to allow docking of Chinese military vessels and strategic surveillance ships on its ports after the Ranil Wickremesinghe government allowed Chinese ballistic missile tracking ship Wang Yuan 5 to dock at Hambantota despite India red-flagging the move.
Sri Lanka, India discuss maritime challenges faced in Indian Ocean
The navies of India and Sri Lanka have discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation and actions to overcome common maritime challenges faced by the navies and coast guard personnel of the two countries in the Indian Ocean.The 32nd international maritime boundary line (IMBL) meeting between Sri Lankan and Indian navies was held here on board SLNS Sayura off the coast of Kankesanthurai in the north on Friday, the Sri Lanka Navy said in a press release.
The talks between the navies of the two countries was held to mainly discuss common maritime challenges in the Indian Ocean region.
The objective of the IMBL meeting is to strengthen relationships between the two neighbouring countries and discuss actions to be taken pertaining to the navies and Coast Guard personnel to overcome maritime challenges.
At this year's meeting delegates from both sides discussed matters pertinent to the security of maritime borders of both countries and exchanged views on the progress of previous meetings, the release said.
The IMBL meeting is held to strengthen relationships and exchange views on actions to be taken by the navies and coast guard personnel of the two countries, the release added.
The Indian High Commission here termed the discussion on matters of common concern as fruitful".
"Fruitful discussions on matters of common concern and effective surveillance between India and Sri Lanka at the 32nd International Maritime Boundary Line Meeting held onboard SLNS Sayura yesterday," it tweeted.
The Sri Lankan delegation at the IMBL meeting was led by Commander Northern Naval Area, Rear Admiral Aruna Tennakoon, while the Indian delegation was headed by Flag Officer Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Naval Area, Rear Admiral S Venkat Raman, the release said.
Defence Adviser to the High Commission of India in Colombo, Captain Vikas Sood was also present at the meeting.
Sri Lanka, India discuss maritime challenges faced in Indian Ocean
The navies of India and Sri Lanka have discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation and actions to overcome common maritime challenges faced by the navies and coast guard personnel of the two countries in the Indian Ocean.
Sri Lanka turns to India for help to boost dairy production
In a bid to scale up its dairy production to become self-sufficient, Sri Lanka has sought technical assistance from India’s National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and market leader Amul, reviving a collaboration that the island attempted in the late 1990s, but failed to take forward.Officials from Sri Lanka’s Agriculture Ministry and National Livestock Development Board held a “preliminary discussion” with visiting Indian authorities from the NDDB, the President’s media division said on Monday. President Ranil Wickremesinghe has appointed a committee with representatives from Sri Lanka’s public and private sectors, to work with the NDDB and “prepare a short, medium and long-term plan to increase local milk production to reduce the country’s dependence on imported milk powder”, his office said in a statement.
Sri Lanka turns to India for help to boost dairy production
UHT milk costs nearly LKR 500 (roughly ₹111) a litre, while 1 kg of milk powder rose to LKR 1300 this year (about ₹290)
‘Neighbourhood First’! India helps Sri Lanka start reconstruction work of century-old railway track
In a move aiming at boosting mobility and increasing economic activity in the cash-strapped island nation, the reconstruction work of a century-old railway track in northern Sri Lanka was inaugurated on Monday, which will be completed under India’s assistance.The 43-km long reconstructed railway track, which falls between Medawachchiya and Madhu Road, represents the first phase of the project to reconstruct the Northern Railway Line that covers 252 km.
An Indian company that has contributed to several railway reconstruction projects in Sri Lanka, IRCON International is handling this project. Additionally, IRCON has also undertaken ancillary works from Maho to Omanthai, 128 km, under an existing line of credit (LoC) of USD 318 million, at a cost of USD 91.27 million.
The Indian High Commission said in a statement, “As a long-standing development partner of Sri Lanka, the Government of India executed several projects in Sri Lanka under its concessional loans and grant schemes. Of the different sectors of cooperation under these facilities, the upgradation and modernisation of Sri Lankan Railways has been one of the priority areas.”
Gopal Baglay, Indian High Commissioner, said the move underlined the significance of modernisation of Railways in boosting mobility of goods and services in Sri Lanka which would increase economic activity, and added that India has executed projects of over USD 1 billion in the Railways sector in Sri Lanka under five Indian LoCs.
Baglay said that projects of about USD 180 million are either ongoing or in pipeline under existing LoCs.
The High Commissioner underscored the importance of buttressing connectivity internally in Sri Lanka. He also underlined the connectivity with India for enhancing pilgrimages, tourism, trade and economic benefits for people from both countries.
“A glorious new chapter of India-Sri Lanka railway cooperation begins today with the ceremonial inauguration of railway track reconstruction work at Madavachi,” the Indian High Commission tweeted.
Following ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, India has given several assistance to Sri Lanka to help the country fend off its worst economic and humanitarian crisis since its independence from Great Britain in 1948
Meanwhile, 125 SUVs were handed to the Sri Lanka Police by India under a line of credit in December last year to help the island nation address the serious mobility restriction issues faced by the police. India also supported Sri Lanka by giving 75 passenger buses as part of its assistance towards strengthening public transport infrastructure in the country.
Extending support to a neighbour in need, India gave financial assistance of nearly USD 4 billion to Colombo this year. In January 2022, India gave a USD 900 million loan to Sri Lanka in order to build up its depleted foreign reserves. Also, India offered a USD 500 million credit line to Sri Lanka to fund the country’s fuel purchases.
Sri Lanka to resume negotiations on stalled trade agreement with India
Sri Lanka will soon resume talks with India on the stalled Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement (ETCA), authorities said, as Colombo looks to trade pacts and foreign direct investments to rebuild its crisis-hit economy.“We hope to commence negotiations on the ETCA later this month,” said K.J. Weerasinghe, Chief Negotiator of FTAs at the International Trade Office, recently set up under the Presidential Secretariat. “We had finished 11 rounds of bilateral talks the last time [between 2016 and 2019] with the aim of broadening and deepening the [ISFTA] that is in force since India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement,” said the senior official, who was formerly Director General of the Department of Commerce, following several diplomatic stints focusing on Sri Lanka’s international trade interests.
Sri Lanka to resume negotiations on stalled trade agreement with India
11 rounds of bilateral negotiations were held on the Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement
India at forefront of helping Sri Lanka, lots of negative news about the country that isn't true: Harin Fernando, minister of Tourism and Lands, Sri Lanka
"There are so many airlines flying to Sri Lanka, especially Indigo, Air India and Sri Lankan Airlines. If you really put them all together, there is a massive amount of flights that come to Sri Lanka from different locations of India. We have discussed with Indigo and Air India how we can market...
Sri Lankan security forces couldn’t pay training fees to India: MoS Defence, emphasises need for self-reliance
Emphasising on the need to attain self-reliance, Union Minister of State for Defence and Tourism Ajay Bhatt Thursday said Sri Lanka was in such a bad economic crisis that its security forces were unable to pay the nominal fees for training exercises in India.Bhatt, who was speaking at a session on ‘AatmaNirbharta in Defence R&D – Synergistic Approach’ at the DefExpo at Gandhinagar, also hailed India’s stand on the Russia-Ukraine war. All students, along with their pet animals, who were stuck in the crossfire were rescued safely due to India’s position, he said.
Citing the Sri Lankan example to show the damage a dependent democratic country can suffer, Bhatt said, “When the management (of a country) is not right, it becomes like Sri Lanka… owing to the poor economic situation, they had to ask for aid (from other countries). The saddest part was their (Sri Lanka) Army officers who came for training (in India) did not even have the means to pay for the nominal fee. They requested that the fee be adjusted this year and (said) would pay next year when they may have the money.”
Stressing on being ‘AatmaNirbhar’ (self-reliant) as a nation, a feat that he claimed India has achieved in “every arena”, Bhatt said, “Our economic situation is so strong that we can feed ourselves comfortably for a year (if faced with a crisis). We have become self-reliant in every arena and it is not a small thing. If God wills, we will lead the world.”
Referring to India’s position during the Russia-Ukraine war, the Union minister said, “We evacuated so many people. Usually in war situations even the rescuers can be affected but…. we brought 22,500 students safely with their pet dogs and cats back here to India.”
Addressing the same session, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh noted that both the public sector and private sector “are equivalent to wheels that will drive the research and development vehicle to move towards self-reliance”.
Sri Lankan security forces couldn’t pay training fees to India: MoS Defence, emphasises need for self-reliance
Ajay Bhatt, who was speaking at a session on ‘AatmaNirbharta in Defence R&D - Synergistic Approach’ at the DefExpo at Gandhinagar, also hailed India’s stand on the Russia-Ukraine war
indianexpress.com
Sri Lanka to resume flights from Jaffna to India next week: Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva
Sri Lanka to resume flights from Jaffna to India next week: Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva
“The flights to India from Palaly will resume soon, most probably by December 12,” Sri Lanka’s Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said.
Sri Lanka to begin procuring digital ID equipment from India with Indian money
The Indo-Sri Lanka Joint Project Monitoring Committee (JPMC) has launched the procurement process for the Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity Project (SL-UDI) after government ministers met with the Indian High Commissioner, report outlets including the Daily FT.The scheme is expected to resemble India’s Aadhaar and run on MOSIP (Modular Open-Source Identification Platform), inspired by Aadhaar.
“Major automated biometric systems” will be implemented under “the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka’s full supervision and consultation,” state media reports. Biographic and biometric information – facial, iris and fingerprint – will be collected in 2024 entered into a central system. A new card will be issued within 18 months.
Coverage states that this was the second meeting of the JPMC on this project as an extension of the MoU the two countries signed in March 2022, where the digital ID scheme was one of six areas to benefit from financial and material intervention.
An opposition politician raised concerns about whether identity information gathered would be visible to Indian authorities. It is believed only Indian firms will be eligible to apply, although U.S.-based IriTech has been involved in iris recognition pilots in the country.
Previous reporting stated Indian funding for the digital identity project to the tune of Rs 300 million (US$3.6 million). The latest reports state Rs 3 billion ($36.5 million), although this could be a mistake in converting Indian numbers into the Western system. Other reports seem to suggest the software will cost Rs 3 billion while the whole scheme will cost Rs 12 billion. MOSIP is free to use, but countries using it face implementation costs.
Tender documents do not yet appear to be available. Previous terms of reference for selecting a consultancy to prepare the software for the upcoming digital identity project, revealed details such as a plan to register 16.5 million people within two years across 1,600 centers and prepare for MOSIP integration.
Previous domestic efforts to launch biometric identity schemes in Sri Lanka have failed. The government sees the new scheme as a way to “enable dramatic leaps in service quality and massive efficiency gains for governments, as well as drive financial and social inclusion to a maximum extent by providing citizens access to citizen services and benefits of healthcare, education, and other government programs,” as per the previous tender documents.
The government has previously announced plans to develop a digital wallet alongside digital ID as certain payments become digitized. It has made progress in issuing digital birth certificates with the system ready to convert these into national IDs at the age of 15.
Sri Lanka to begin procuring digital ID equipment from India with Indian money | Biometric Update
The Indo-Sri Lanka Joint Project Monitoring Committee has launched the procurement process for the Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity Project.
www.biometricupdate.com
Will continue to be ‘steadfast friend’ of Sri Lanka: India
India on Thursday said it will continue to be a “steadfast friend” of Sri Lanka and is committed to strengthening the bilateral economic partnership for mutual benefit, as it thanked President Ranil Wickremesinghe for holding “successful” talks on debt restructuring.
Sri Lanka's central bank urges China and India to reduce its debts - BBC News
The crisis-hit Indian Ocean state cannot access a $2.9bn bailout until its debts to China and India are resolved.
www.bbc.com
Sri Lanka's central bank urges China and India to reduce its debts - BBC News
The crisis-hit Indian Ocean state cannot access a $2.9bn bailout until its debts to China and India are resolved.
Sri Lanka has ‘successfully’ completed debt restructuring talks with India: President Ranil Wickremesinghe
Sri Lanka has “successfully” completed its debt restructuring talks with India, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Tuesday, days ahead of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to the island nation.Sri Lanka, which is trying to secure a much-needed USD 2.9 billion bridge loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has been trying to get financial assurances from its major creditors — China, Japan and India — which is the requisite for Colombo to get the bailout package.
The IMF bailout has been put on a halt as Sri Lanka pursues talks with creditors to meet the global lender’s condition for the facility.
“I can tell this assembly that the talks are successful. Very soon we will have an answer,” President Wickremesinghe said in Parliament.
Jaishankar will arrive in Sri Lanka on January 19 on a two-day official visit, when he will visit the country’s top leadership. Last week, Sri Lanka completed its debt restructuring talks with Japan and President Wickremesinghe has also held talks with China’s Exim Bank. Extending a much-needed lifeline to a neighbors in need, India has handed financial assistance of nearly USD 4 billion to Colombo last year.
In January 2022, India announced a USD 900 million loan to Sri Lanka to build up its depleted foreign reserves as the financial crisis began to unfold. Later, it offered a USD 500 million credit line to Sri Lanka to fund the country’s fuel purchases. The credit line was later expanded to USD 700 million due to the sheer gravity of the situation.
The Indian credit lines since early 2022 have been in use to import essentials and fuel after street protests erupted due to severe shortages of essentials. Sri Lanka began debt restructuring talks with its creditors in September last year as warranted by its agreement with the IMF for the USD 2.9 billion facility over four years.
It began negotiating with the IMF for a bail-out after having announced its first-ever sovereign debt default in April last year. The IMF facility would enable the island nation to obtain bridging finance from markets and other lending institutions such as the ADB and the World Bank.
Sri Lanka was hit by an unprecedented financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves, sparking political turmoil in the country which led to the ouster of the all-powerful Rajapaksa family.
Sri Lanka has ‘successfully’ completed debt restructuring talks with India: President Ranil Wickremesinghe
Sri Lanka began debt restructuring talks with its creditors in September last year as warranted by its agreement with the IMF for the USD 2.9 billion facility over four years.
indianexpress.com