FM Sitharaman to embark on 3-day visit to Sri Lanka

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be on a three-day official visit to Sri Lanka beginning Wednesday to address 'NAAM 200' and India Sri Lanka Business Summit, among others.

During her visit, she will give the keynote address as the Guest of Honour at the 'NAAM 200' organised by the Government of Sri Lanka to commemorate the 200th anniversary of arrival of India-origin Tamils (IOTs) to the island nation on November 2 in Colombo, the finance ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

'NAAM 200' will be graced by Ranil Wickremesinghe, President of Sri Lanka, Dinesh Gunawardena, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, among several other dignitaries, it said.

Other invitees from Indian political parties and Representative of Malaysian Tamil Congress will also be present in the event, it said.

Sitharaman will also give keynote address at the India Sri Lanka Business Summit on the theme 'Enhancing Connectivity: Partnering for Prosperity', being jointly organised by Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Indo-Lanka Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, on on the same day.

As part of the official visit, the finance minister will have call on the president and prime minister of Sri Lanka.

She will witness the exchange of the Memorandum of Understanding for Solar Electrification of Religious Places in Sri Lanka, wherein India will allocate Rs 82.40 crore out of the Government of India's total grant of Rs 107.47 crore earmarked for the promotion of Buddhist ties, it said.

The finance minister will also inaugurate SBI branches at Trincomalee and Jaffna.

Her visit comes at a time when Sri Lanka is struggling to come out of the financial crisis hit last year, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves.

As the country struggled and locked in the throes of the crisis, India extended multi-pronged assistance of about USD 4 billion to it last year through multiple credit lines and currency support, in line with India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy.

Sitharaman will visit Sri Dalada Maligawa (The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic) in Kandy, Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura, Thirukoneswaram Temple in Trincomalee and Kandaswamy Temple in Nallur.

Besides the above engagements, the Union finance minister is also slated to visit Lanka IOC Oil Tank Farms, Jaffna Cultural Centre and Jaffna Public Library during her visit.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)