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Sitharaman asks China to join Japan, India and France in their effort to help Lanka
India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has invited China, as a large creditor to Sri Lanka, to join Japan, India and France in their effort to help the country cope with its debt distress.
She has also called upon the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to speed up relief measures for countries facing debt vulnerabilities, according to a report in The Hindu.
Terming multilateral development banks’ (MDBs) reforms and debt-relief measures for many stressed economies as the top two finance track priorities for India during its G-20 Presidency, Sitharaman said that a comprehensive, better and quicker approach is required to address the problem within the common framework of the IMF and World Bank, as well as “outside” it.
“I quote the ‘outside of it’ equally as much as within the framework, as we have the example of Sri Lanka, a middle-income country which got into distress because its earnings were limited to tourism and some other areas like export of tea… Sri Lanka required a quick redressal, although outside of the framework because they are a middle-income country,” she noted in a discussion at the India-Japan Forum.
In Sri Lanka’s case, Japan, which holds the G-7 Presidency currently, quickly took the lead to address the distress, she pointed out. “Japan came up, along with France and India, with a quick committee of creditors group, which started addressing the issue. And of course, it was an open forum, it wasn’t limited to just to the three countries, China is welcome to participate as one of the big creditors,” Sitharaman said.
Japan’s leadership in such cases with “a constructive approach to address debt distress” has been well-received, the Minister said, adding that this is an indicator that the G-7 and G-20 together would come up with solutions to the problem.
While the MDBs are acting to alleviate debt distress, they need to be “more nimble”, the Indian Minister said, noting that “we are looking at situations where countries are waiting for more than three or four years after the application seeking some redressal, to get the actual resolution of the issues”.
Members of the South Asian Journalists Forum have gathered at the University of New Delhi for a two day conference themed ‘Peace and Co-operation’.
Journalists from Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and India are attending the conference hosted by the University of Delhi in collaboration with the India Chapter of SJF, and will deliberate on how the media can act as a catalyst for regional stability and mutual coexsistence.
A tree plantation campaign was also held at the Ghandi Bhawan premises of the University to mark the event and symbolize growing regional ties.
The Sri Lanka delegation is led by President of SJF’s Sri Lanka Chapter Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi.
The Governor of the of Gujarat, Acharya Devvrat, along with the Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat, Harsh Sanghvi, met with Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya on Thursdy [February 05] at the Parliamentary Complex to discuss the arrangements related to the exposition of the Devnimori Sacred Relics of Lord Buddha, which have been brought to Sri Lanka under the patronage of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Government of India.
These sacred relics of Lord Buddha were discovered during archaeological excavations conducted in the 1960s at the historic Devnimori site in Gujarat, the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Until now, these relics had never been taken outside India. As a result of discussions held between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Sri Lanka, the people of Sri Lanka have been granted this rare opportunity to venerate these sacred relics.
The exposition of the relics is being held for a period of seven days, from February 05 to February 11, at the Gangaramaya Temple in Hunupitiya, Colombo. Discussions were held between both parties regarding the arrangements related to this event.
The discussion was attended by Samar Nanda, Joint Secretary of the Indian Ministry of Culture; Dr. Satyanjal Pandey, Acting High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka; Abhijit Halder, Director General of the International Buddhist Confederation; along with several others.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
The Indian Naval Ship (INS) GHARIAL made a port call in Colombo for operational turnarounds on 04 Feb 26. The Sri Lanka Navy welcomed the visiting ship in compliance with naval traditions.
Commanded by Commander Gaurav Tewari, INS GHARIAL is a vessel with a length of 124.8 meters.
During this visit, ten (10) Bailey Bridges, brought by ship, through the coordination of the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka, will be handed over to the Disaster Management Center. These bridges will provide temporary transportation links while bridges damaged across the island by adverse weather conditions are repaired.
The crew’s itinerary features scheduled goodwill activities with the Sri Lanka Navy, alongside visits to several tourist attractions across the island.
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