Sri Lanka and India have agreed to expedite projects, including promoting Buddhist ties, under a special Indian grant of $15 million.
The Indian High Commission in Colombo said in a statement, High Commissioner Gopal Baglay and Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs Vidura Wickramanayaka held talks to expedite jointly-identified priority projects including promotion of Buddhist ties and functioning of the Jaffna Cultural Centre (JCC).
Discussions were held on the installation of solar power facilities in places of worship and Pirivenas or schools where monks are trained around the country from the grant.
The High Commission statement said, “The meeting on JCC focused on the establishment of an enabling joint-framework to make the state-of-the-art facility available for regular use by common public. This glowing example of India-Sri Lanka development partnership, which has been constructed under a government of India grant of more than $11 million, consists of multiple facilities such as a museum of two floors, a latest theatre style auditorium for more than 600 people, a 11-storeyed learning tower, and a public square which could also act as an amphitheatre, among others.”
The statement also noted that the meetings with Minister Vidura Wickramanayaka underscored India’s abiding commitment to bring about an impact to the daily lives of the people of Sri Lanka through the implementation of people-centric grant projects.