Page 3 - Sri Lanka

‘India supported us immensely during economic crisis,’ says Sri Lankan President Dissanayake

India to supply LNG to Sri Lankan power plants, connect power grids

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is on a three-day visit to India for bilateral talks centred around economic cooperation, defence collaboration, and energy connectivity

PM Modi holds talks with Sri Lanka Prez Dissanayake over trade, defence

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday held extensive talks with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Disanayaka, focusing on further shoring up India-Sri Lankan cooperation in a range of areas, including defence, trade and investment. The Sri Lankan leader arrived in Delhi on Sunday, his first foreign trip after becoming president in September. Ahead of the talks, Disanayaka was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. "An extensive agenda encompassing trade, investment, development and security cooperation will be discussed," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on 'X' ahead of the Modi-Disanayaka talks. On Sunday, the Sri Lankan leader held separate meetings with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval. The Sri Lankan leader will also meet President Droupadi Murmu. Disanayaka is scheduled to attend a business event in Delhi to promote investment and commercial linkages between India and Sri Lanka. He is also scheduled to visit

Sri Lanka key to Neighbourhood First policy: Jaishankar tells Dissanayake

He further affirmed confidence that President Dissanayake's talks with Prime Minister Modi today will lead to greater cooperation

Sri Lankan prez Dissanayake meets FM Sitharaman to discuss economic ties

Earlier on Sunday, Dissanayake also met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval

Sri Lankan President begins 3-day India visit to boost bilateral ties

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Disanayaka arrived in India on Sunday on a three-day visit in his first foreign trip after assuming the top office in September. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold wide-ranging talks with the Sri Lankan leader on Monday that is expected to focus on trade, investment, energy and maritime security. The Indian side is also likely to convey to the Sri Lankan leader New Delhi's expectations from Colombo to fulfil the aspirations of the Tamil community in the island nation. Disanayaka was received at the Delhi airport by Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan. In a post on 'X', External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Disanayaka's visit will be an opportunity to further deepen India-Sri Lankan ties and add momentum to the people-centric partnership. "Warm and special welcome!" he said along with photos of the Union minister receiving Disanayaka. The Sri Lankan leader will also meet President Droupadi

No problem with Adani funding Colombo Port project: Sri Lankan minister

The Sri Lankan government wants to see the deep-water container terminal project at the Colombo port go ahead and has no issue with the Adani-led conglomerate using its own resources to fund it, ports minister Bimal Rathnayaka has said. In an exchange filing late on Tuesday, Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd said the project "is on track for commissioning by early next year" and added that the company will fund the ongoing project through "internal accruals", aligning with its capital management strategy. It is a very important project for revenue generation for the port, we are keen to see it going ahead," Rathnayaka told reporters during a tour of the port on Thursday. He said the Adani group's decision to reject funding from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) was its own and Sri Lanka had no issues with it. The DFC, in November last year, agreed to provide a USD 553 million loan to support the development, construction, and operation of a deep-water container termi

Why Adani Group opted out of $553 mn US funding for Colombo port project

The Adani group has said it would finance the Colombo West International Terminal redevelopment project through its internal resources and capital management plan

Will use own resources: Adani opts out of US funding for Colombo project

Billionaire Gautam Adani-led conglomerate on Tuesday said it will use its own resources to fund a Sri Lankan port project and not seek US funding. In an exchange filing late on Tuesday, Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd said the project "is on track for commissioning by early next year" and added that the company will fund the ongoing project through "internal accruals", aligning with its capital management strategy. The company said it has withdrawn its 2023 "request for financing from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)". The US International Development Finance Corp, in November last year, agreed to provide a USD 553 million loan to support the development, construction, and operation of a deep-water container terminal called the Colombo West International Terminal (CWIT) at the Port of Colombo in Sri Lanka. The CWIT is being developed by a consortium of Adani Ports, Sri Lankan conglomerate John Keells Holdings Plc, and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA). DFC ...

SL Navy arrests 8 Indian fishermen for crossing border, seizes 2 boats

Fishermen who went to sea in 324 boats from Mandapam north coast of Ramanathapuram district on Dec 7 were fishing near Delft Island in Palk Bay Sea area when Sri Lanka Navy arrived and seized 2 boats

Senior US diplomat to visit India, Nepal, Sri Lanka for cooperation talks

Biden Administration's point person for South and Central Asia will visit India, Sri Lanka and Nepal this week, the first after the November 5 presidential elections. The trip by the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu will be on a visit to the three countries from December 3 to December 10, the State Department said. The visit aims at strengthening cooperation with key partners in South Asia to promote regional prosperity and security, it said. In New Delhi, Lu will support US-India collaboration in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. He will join Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink to lead US participation in the US-India East Asia Consultations. The Consultations, along with separate meetings with senior Indian officials, will provide an opportunity to exchange perspectives on global and regional issues, an official release said. On December 5, Lu will travel to Colombo t

Cyclone Fengal kills 19 in India and Sri Lanka; triggers flooding in TN

In Sri Lanka, 16 people were killed, with heavy rains affecting a total of 138,944 families, the latest data from the Disaster Management Centre in Colombo showed

Sri Lankan govt to probe 'false media propaganda' over Heroes Day events

Sri Lankan authorities have announced an investigation into "false media propaganda" aimed at discrediting the government for permitting commemorative events in the Northern Province for those who lost their lives during the decades-long separatist conflict with the LTTE. The week-long events commemorating 'Maaveerar Naal' or Great Heroes Day are observed from November 27 by some Tamil political groups and the relatives of those killed in the conflict. We were not opposed to the relatives celebrating their dead," Ananda Wijepala, the public security minister told reporters. However there is no room for celebrating the LTTE who remains a banned terrorist organisation," Wijepala stressed. He said the LTTE remains a banned organisation as per the government gazette of 29 August 2011. Wijepala said an investigation would start on false media propaganda carried out to discredit the government for allowing LTTE celebrations in the north and east. Slain LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabakara

Heavy rains trigger flooding in Sri Lanka; 8, including 6 children, missing

Eight people, including six children returning from school, have gone missing in Sri Lanka when the farm tractor they were traveling on was swept away by floods triggered by heavy rains, police said Wednesday. Army and navy troops were deployed to rescue victims and provide food and other essentials to those affected. Sri Lanka has experienced heavy downpours and strong winds over the past two days that have flooded homes, fields and roads and forced authorities to suspend train services in tea-growing mountain areas. In the worst incident, a farm tractor carrying 11 school children was swept away Tuesday evening in the eastern region of the country, police said. Five children were rescued while six other children along with the driver and another adult are still missing in the incident near the town of Karaitivu. A search operation is underway, police said in a statement. Separately, a woman died when a brick wall collapsed on her in the mountainous region of Badulla in the centr

Sri Lanka govt ratifies debt restructuring agreement for $ 14.2 bn

Sri Lanka's new government on Tuesday announced that it has ratified the agreement for debt restructuring sealed in the previous regime for USD 14.2 billion compulsory to maintain debt sustainability by the IMF through an exchange of new bonds for the existing bonds. The development comes days after the National People's Power (NPP) government on Saturday got the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approval for a staff-level agreement to secure the fourth tranche of the nearly USD 3 billion bailout package, something that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake backed despite his pre-presidential election rhetoric to renegotiate with the global lender to water down tough conditions. The debt restructuring agreement was reached in the last week of the then President Ranil Wickremesinghe's regime in September, days before the presidential polls. A final consensus on restructuring debt by the members of the Official Credit Committee (OCC) of major bilateral creditors in June 2024. In ...

US development agency assessing ramifications on Adani's Sri Lanka project

US International Development Finance Corp last November said it would provide $553 million in financing for the port terminal project in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka

US agency conducting due diligence on Adani's Sri Lanka project: Report

Last November, the agency said it would provide $553 million in financing for the port terminal project in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. The project is partly owned by India's Adani Group

SriLankan Airlines eyes more Indian tourists with Ramayana Trail package

Seeing India as a place that offers "enormous growth" opportunities, SriLankan Airlines aims to increase flights to the country as well as attract more tourists, including with the Ramayana Trail package, according to a top airline official. The Ramayana Trail will help people connect with 20 significant locations in Sri Lanka that are linked to the Ramayana story. SriLankan Airlines CEO Richard Nuttall said growth in the number of tourists from India has been stellar this year but still below the pre-Covid numbers. He was speaking at a function in the national capital for the launch of the Ramayana Trail package on Saturday evening. High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India Kshenuka Senewiratne was also present. Till the end of October this year, around 20 per cent of the tourists who came to Sri Lanka were from India. "We have been looking at how to lift and rejuvenate tourism from India to Sri Lanka to the next level," he said while mentioning the Ramayana Trail and added that it

IMF approves third review of Sri Lanka's $2.9 bn bailout, warns of risks

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka plunged into its worst financial crisis in more than seven decades in 2022 with a severe dollar shortage sending inflation soaring to 70 per cent, its currency to record lows

Lankan Prez must fully implement vision document with India: Wickremesinghe

President Dissanayake, elected to the top office in September this year, is scheduled to visit India in mid-December