Category: News

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to travel to Sri Lanka in April. The visit, according to Sri Lankan sources, is still firming up and could happen around 5th April, with focus on a range of issues, including connectivity and economic ties.

The invitation for this visit was extended by Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake during his two-day trip to New Delhi in mid-December 2024. That was President Dissanayake’s first overseas visit after being elected in September 2024.

During the visit, the Indian government announced the conversion of $20 million in payments for seven completed Line of Credit projects into grants, easing Sri Lanka’s debt burden. The announcement builds on Delhi’s support to Colombo, worth $4 billion during the 2022 economic crisis the country faced.

A document from the International Monetary Fund has disclosed that Sri Lanka completed its debt treatment with the China Development Bank (CDB).

The IMF said that the debt treatment is in alignment with program parameters and met the standards for comparability of treatment (COT), as assessed by the Official Creditor Committee.

The document released inline with a virtual press conference by Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka on Tuesday (4) disclosed that the authorities started with technical exchanges with the CDB, including in person in Colombo in May 2023 and in Beijing in October 2023, to reconcile their DSA modeling and advance technical discussions.

The authorities reached agreement on an agreement in principle with China Development Bank in November 2024, assessed by IMF staff as consistent with debt sustainability.

The Official Creditor Committee assessed this agreement in principle as consistent with comparability of treatment.

The document from the IMF showed that the authorities completed their debt treatment with CDB and started paying on restructured debt in December 2024. It added that Sri Lanka has reached a significant milestone in its efforts to restore debt sustainability with the successful completion of a bond exchange.

It added that the authorities finalized the Eurobond exchange in December, achieving an impressive 98 percent participation rate. This success followed the activation of collective action mechanisms, in accordance with the Agreements in Principle (AIPs) established with the external bondholder committee and the local bondholder consortium on September 18.

These agreements were evaluated by staff and deemed consistent with debt sustainability. Additionally, the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) confirmed that the agreements met the standards for comparability of treatment (COT).

Sri Lanka on Monday reiterated its rejection of evidence gathering mechanisms within the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) saying it contradicts its founding principles of impartiality, objectivity and non-selectivity.

The Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Himalee Arunatilaka, noted that Sri Lanka has consistently spoken out against country specific resolutions that do not have the concurrence of the country concerned.

“We have reiterated our rejection of Resolutions 46/1, 51/1, and 57/1 and the external evidence gathering mechanism on Sri Lanka that has been set up using these divisive and intrusive resolutions,” she said.

She said that no sovereign state can accept the superimposition of an external mechanism that runs contrary to its Constitution and which pre-judges the commitment of its domestic legal processes.

Furthermore, she said that serious concerns have been raised by a number of countries on the budgetary implications of the external mechanism, particularly at a time the UN is undergoing severe budgetary constraints.

Arunatilaka said that the Government has prioritized economic growth which will take place in a manner that is inclusive, where all citizens have enhanced economic opportunities allowing the resultant benefits to be reaped fairly by all strata of society.

“The rule of law, transparency, accountability and reconciliation will prevail in order to ensure sustained economic growth and social well-being of the people,” the Ambassador said.

The Ambassador briefed the Council on the work of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP), the Office for Reparations, and the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR).

“We remain steadfast in our belief that national ownership with gradual reforms, is the only practical way forward to transformative change. We regret the continuing inconsistent application of human rights principles through the work of the Council. This has resulted in the erosion of trust in the human rights architecture making countries less likely to respect the noble purposes for which the Human Rights Council was created,” the Ambassador said.

The Local Government (LG) elections are likely to be held in the first week of May, Daily Mirror learns.

Speaking to Daily Mirror, the Election Commission Chairman R.M.A.L. Ratnayake said a special meeting would be convened to discuss the date and reach a final decision within this week.

“The decision would be taken after considering all proposals put forward by respective political parties,” he stated.

“We take all suggestions into account. However, as an independent body, the relevant date will be announced in line with the Local Government Election Act,” the Election Chief stressed.

Opposition parties have requested a delay in calling for nominations until the budget debate concludes, while the government has pushed for an earlier announcement.

The National People’s Power (NPP) has been particularly vocal about expediting the process.

The LG election, originally scheduled for 2023, was postponed after nominations had already begun. Several political parties challenged this delay in court, arguing that using the same nomination lists for a 2025 election would be unfair.

The court later ruled that a fresh nomination process would require two-thirds majority approval in Parliament.

Former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe asserted that India has reached its “takeoff point” toward becoming an economic superpower. Speaking at the NXT 2025 Conclave in New Delhi, he predicted that by 2050, India would emerge as one of the three global superpowers, alongside the United States and China.

Reflecting on his six-decade association with India, Wickremesinghe emphasized the country’s economic trajectory, calling it the driving force that could propel South Asia into a new era of prosperity. “I have been coming to India since 1963. It’s now that you have to see it. India has reached the take-off point to become an economic superpower,” he stated.

According to Wickremesinghe, India’s GDP, currently at approximately $3.5 trillion, is expected to soar to $30 trillion by 2050. He highlighted that this extraordinary expansion would reshape the region’s economy, fostering supply chains, manufacturing clusters, and economic corridors benefiting nations such as Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

Call to Redefine South Asia’s Identity

Wickremesinghe urged South Asia to reassess its identity, starting with rejecting externally imposed terminologies. “The terminology is not ours. It comes from the West. You do not come across this term in any of the South Asian languages, nor in any Indian language. It was in 1949 that the U.S. Security and Defense Establishment, through one of its subcommittees, decided to call our area South Asia. We simply adopted it,” he remarked.

Comparing the region’s integration progress with ASEAN, he pointed out that South Asia has lagged behind. “Unlike ASEAN, which built its own successful integration and became part of the Asia-Pacific, South Asia has made very slow progress. Our heads of government haven’t met since 2014. Yet, we are bound by strong commonalities—languages, culture, and civilizational ties,” he added.

Wickremesinghe envisioned an expanded “Greater South Asia” extending beyond SAARC’s current boundaries, incorporating the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the Indian Peninsula, the Himalayas, Afghanistan, and the Indian Ocean islands. He also stressed the need for stronger economic ties linking the region with Southeast Asia, the Arabian Sea, and the Mediterranean.

India’s Economic Surge and Regional Trade Dynamics

Wickremesinghe predicted that South India alone would develop into a $6 trillion economy by 2050, naturally fostering economic corridors connecting Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Southeast Asia into an India-centric supply chain. He also pointed out that while China’s trade with ASEAN is expected to triple, India’s trade could grow nine-fold, potentially bringing ASEAN closer to India than China over time.

However, he warned against protectionist trade policies in the region, stating that “the vestiges of Nehruvian socialism” still persist in South Asia’s economic strategies.

Source: Pratidin Time

Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) leader and opposition MP Mano Ganesan on Saturday slammed the Sri Lankan government over the exit of Adani Green Energy from the island nation, saying that it has sent the wrong signal to the world.

Speaking in Parliament during a debate, Ganesan accused the government of mishandling the project and asserted that it was not the administration that dropped Adani, but rather the Indian conglomerate that abandoned the government.

“You didn’t drop Adani. The truth is Adani dropped you,” he said, criticising the government and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake over its handling of the project.

Furthermore, the opposition MP also argued that the Adani project was not just about supplying energy to Sri Lanka’s domestic grid but also aimed at exporting power to India, a move that could have generated revenue for the island nation.

“Our concerns over pricing, if any, could have been negotiated. Instead, this government failed to recognise the long-term economic benefits of energy exports to India,” Ganesan said.

The MP also questioned President Anura Dissanayake’s recent visit to the United Arab Emirates, questioning its outcome.

“President went to the UAE and returned. What happened there? Is any investment coming in? International investors, especially from the Middle East and Europe, would only consider Sri Lanka if Indian partnerships were in place,” he said.

Ganesan also described Adani’s withdrawal as a “major blunder” that could deter future investments in Sri Lanka, particularly in the renewable energy and infrastructure sectors.

Taking to social media, Ganesan reiterated his concerns and said, “The prospective energy export through grid connectivity with India would have brought revenue to Sri Lanka. You failed to understand this with an eye on the future. The exit of Adani has sent wrong signals to potential foreign investors looking at Sri Lanka”.

Last month, Adani Green Energy announced its withdrawal from two proposed wind power projects in Sri Lanka, following the new government’s decision to renegotiate tariffs. The decision was conveyed in a letter sent by the company to Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment.

Adani’s renewable energy arm had planned a USD 442 million investment in Sri Lanka’s wind power sector, covering both generation and transmission. However, the newly-elected government under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake aimed to cut electricity costs tied to Indian conglomerate’s energy projects in the country.

Source: India Today