New Delhi: The Indian High Commission in Colombo on Tuesday said that in response to a request from the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL), the State Bank of India (SBI) has extended the tenure of the USD 1 billion credit facility provided to Sri Lanka for the procurement of essential commodities in March 2022.
According to the Indian mission in Colombo, an amendment agreement was signed on Tuesday, in the presence of the Sri Lankan Minister of Finance, Shehan Semasinghe, senior officials from the Ministry of Finance of Sri Lanka, and officials from the High Commission of India, Colombo. Officials from the State Bank of India joined the event from India virtually.
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The island nation is grappling with a severe economic crisis and India has been instrumental in providing all possible help to Sri Lanka. Earlier this month, EAM Jaishankar said India did more for Lanka than IMF has done for Sri Lanka International Monetary Fund (IMF). He pointed out that the government is working on developing an “extended neighbourhood” that involves islands in the Indian Ocean, Gulf countries and nations in South-East Asia.
With the signing of the amendment agreement, the credit facility will be available for the use of the Government of Sri Lanka for a period of one more year that is till March 2024. It may be recalled that since last year, the facility has been used for urgent procurement of fuel, medicines, food items and industrial raw materials, as per the requirements and priorities of the Sri Lankan government.
The Government of India extended multi-pronged assistance of about USD 4 billion to the Government of Sri Lanka last year, through multiple Credit lines and currency support, in line with India’s ‘Neighbourhood First Policy. It is worth mentioning that India’s continued support of Sri Lanka is a testament to our abiding commitment to stand with the government and the people of Sri Lanka toward early economic stabilisation and recovery.
