India-Sri Lanka

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

India and Sri Lanka have agreed to jointly build in two stages a 135-megawatt solar power plant in the island nation's eastern port district of Trincomalee to promote renewable energy. Sri Lankan Cabinet has given approval for the project as the country aims to generate 70 per cent of its electricity requirement by 2030 from renewable energy sources. "The National Thermal Power Corporation of India and the Ceylon Electricity Board have entered into an agreement to jointly implement a solar power project in two stages," said a note from the Cabinet meeting held this week. "As the first stage of this project, it is expected to implement a solar power project of 50 megawatts with a total estimated investment of USD 42.5 million and to construct a 220 kilowatts transmission line with 40-km length from Sampoor to Kappalthure spending USD 23.6 million, it said. It is expected to complete this stage in two years from 2024 to 2025," it said. A solar power generation plant with an additiona

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

Sri Lanka will sign a memorandum of understanding with India to promote renewable energy as the Island nation aims to generate 70 per cent of electricity requirements from renewable sources by 2030

Sri Lanka would seek a new temporary credit facility of USD 1 billion from India to purchase essential items including food and medicine, the official media here reported on Monday. Sri Lanka received 333 million dollars, the first tranche of the USD 3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme last week to overcome its economic crisis and catalyse financial support from other development partners. The Sri Lankan finance ministry officials held talks with its Indian counterparts to obtain the new temporary USD 1 billion facility for the "purchase of essential foodstuff, medicines and other goods for the country," the state-run Daily News newspaper reported. Meanwhile, former Central Bank Governor Dr Indrajith Coomaraswamy, speaking at a discussion organised by the Centre for Banking Studies of the Central Bank, said, the negotiations are also underway to secure an Indian rupee swap from RBI. The amount is still uncertain; it could be up to the equivalent of USD 1 .

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

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India, under its 'Neighbourhood First' policy, has always come forward to help debt-ridden Sri Lanka, and in the latest instance has distributed the ration in Kalmunai, the Indian High Commission said

Sri Lanka is negotiating with India to extend a $1 billon credit line by a few months, as the island nation tries to line up funds for the rest of the year

Following the Russia-Ukraine war and the sanctions imposed by the West, India has been trying to promote rupee trade

India and the United states have been strengthening their strategic partnership to assist Sri Lanka's political and economic stability.The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee expressed concern about the postponement of Local Government (LG) elections in light of Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe's declaration that there are insufficient funds to hold local government elections and his assumption of office to lead the nation in rescuing Sri Lanka from its severe economic crisis without holding elections, Mawrata News reported.The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee criticised the postponement of the local government elections in Sri Lanka, which is igniting public anger. According to them, any effort to muffle the voice of the Sri Lankan people is categorically undemocratic and a flagrant violation of their rights. They suggested having democratic municipal elections straight away.With a focus on boosting security and fostering economic growth, India and the US have ...

India and Sri Lanka are exploring the possibility of using the Indian Rupee for economic transactions and have discussed the initiative that will help in building a stronger and closer partnership through trade and investment-led measures between the two countries. The High Commission of India here organised a discussion on the use of the Indian Rupee (INR) for transactions between India and Sri Lanka on Thursday. "Representatives from the Bank of Ceylon, State Bank of India and the Indian Bank shared their experiences and informed the audience that they had started carrying out INR-denominated trade transactions through respective Vostro/Nostro accounts after the creation of enabling framework by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) in 2022," the High Commission said in a statement. The participating banks also outlined the benefits of settlements denominated in INR which includes shorter timelines, lower exchange costs and easier availability of

Top defence officials of India and Sri Lanka have held the seventh edition of their annual dialogue during which the two sides reviewed the bilateral defence and security cooperation and identified new avenues for engagement. The two-day meeting of the 7th edition of the Annual Defence Dialogue (ADD) between India and Sri Lanka, which began in New Delhi on Thursday was chaired by Defence Secretary Giridhar Armane and his Sri Lankan counterpart General Kamal Gunaratne. During the meeting which ended on Saturday, the two sides reviewed the defence and security cooperation, the Indian High Commission said here. Various ongoing defence cooperation initiatives were jointly reviewed and new avenues for engagement were identified during the ADD, it said. Sri Lanka's delegation included Air Marshal SK Pathirana, Commander of Sri Lanka Air Force along with senior officers from the Sri Lanka Army and the Navy. The Indian delegation included officials from the Ministry of Defence, Headquarte

A temporary permission had been granted to import eggs for a period of two months

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Jaffna Cultural Centre, which was inaugurated on Saturday, an "important initiative" signifying the close cooperation between India and Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena has said that India is the biggest friend of the island nation in times of crisis. Sri Lanka declared bankruptcy last year and defaulted on its USD 51 billion foreign loans for the first time since independence from Britain in 1948. India has played a significant role in aiding the island nation over the last year to tide over the economic crisis. Addressing the Tata Tiscon Dealer Convention 2023 in Colombo, Prime Minister Gunawardena called on Indian companies to invest further in Sri Lanka. He further said that India is the biggest friend of Sri Lanka in times of crisis, the Colombo Gazette portal reported. Outlining the benefits of Indian investments in Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Gunawardena highlighted that 90 per cent of components used by Lanka Ashok Leyland were indigenous, it said. Speaking at the event, High Commissioner Gopal Baglay said that both Government of India and Indian corporates are working to build relationships tha

India is always a dependable partner and a reliable friend of Sri Lanka, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said. His remarks came as he attended Sri Lanka's 75th Independence Day. Several other foreign dignitaries also attended the event. Muraleedharan said he was happy to represent India at "friendly neighbour" Sri Lanka's 75th Independence Day celebrations. "This milestone coincides with 75 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between both countries India is always a dependable partner and a reliable friend of Sri Lanka," he tweeted. Muraleedharan also prayed to The Buddha at the sacred Gangaramaya Temple in Colombo. "Offered his respects to Ven Dr. Kirinde Assaji Thero," the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka tweeted. Assaji Thero is the Chief Incumbent of Gangaramaya Temple. Muraleedharan highlighted the close civilisational ties between India and Sri Lanka which are manifested, including through Buddhism. Last year, India extended USD 3.9 bi

State Minister for External Affairs V Muraleedharan will represent India at Sri Lanka's 75th Independence Day celebrations to be held here on Saturday and hold bilateral interactions with President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, officials said on Friday. Along with Muraleedharan, several other foreign dignitaries, including the head of the Commonwealth Patricia Scotland are to attend the main event in the capital, Colombo. The security has been beefed up in the capital with armed troops manning the most popular junctions in and around Colombo's immediate suburbs. The trip by Muraleedharan to Colombo comes nearly two weeks after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Sri Lanka. Muraleedharan will have bilateral meetings with Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe and Foreign Minister Sabry, officials here said. Muraleedharan will also have an interaction with the prominent members of the Indian diaspora. His two-day visit is a reflection of deeper bilate

Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to India, Milinda Moragoda, called on External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday. They discussed how to take the relationship forward between the two countries

India on Friday agreed to double its high-impact community development project in Sri Lanka with a new bilateral agreement signed during the much-anticipated visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Jaishankar, who is on a two-day visit to the debt-trapped island nation, met top leaders to enhance bilateral ties and finalise a debt restructuring plan to help Colombo carve out a path from its economic crisis. "This agreement related to community development projects in Sri Lanka with the support of the government of India was signed in May 2005. Its project limit was rupees 300 million which will now be doubled to rupees 600 million by the agreement signed today," a statement from President Ranil Wickremesinghe's office said. Jaishankar also handed over 300 completed houses in the Galle, Kandy, and Nuwara Eliya districts in the housing project implemented by India. Wickremesinghe's office said that during the talks special attention was paid to the debt restructuring program