Indo-Lankan pact signed for USD 318 mn line of credit

Colombo: India on Tuesday signed an agreement with Sri Lanka to provide USD 318 million as line of credit to develop the island nation’s railway sector, officials said.

The agreement was signed by RHS Samaratunga, Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Mass media, and David Rasquinha, Managing Director of India’s Export-Import Bank in



Colombo.

During his first visit to Sri Lanka as prime minister in 2015, Narendra Modi had declared a line of credit of USD 318 million for the development of Sri Lanka’s railway sector.

That visit, the first standalone bilateral visit by an Indian prime minister since 1987, had come in the backdrop of increasing Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean nation.