The Australian government has announced it will provide AUD $50 million to support Sri Lanka amid its worst economic crisis in 70 years.
This grant is in addition to its bilateral allocation and official development assistance (ODA) of US$ 77.4 million provided to the island nation for the period of 2021-2022 -2023, Finance Ministry statistics showed.
Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong announced the Official Development Assistance will be provided to “support Sri Lanka meet urgent food and healthcare needs”.
In her statement Ms Wong said there are “deeper consequences for the region if this crisis continues”.Sri Lanka currently faces its worst economic crisis in seventy years, leading to shortages of food, medicine and fuel.
The Foreign Minister said Australia has a close and long-standing relationship with Sri Lanka. “Not only do we want to help the people of Sri Lanka in its time of need, there are also deeper consequences for the region if this crisis continues.”
She said “We will contribute an immediate $22 million to the World Food Programme for emergency food assistance to help three million people in Sri Lanka meet their daily nutritional needs.”
“Australia will also provide $23 million in development assistance to Sri Lanka in 2022-23.”“This will support health services, and economic recovery, with a strong emphasis on protecting those at risk, especially women and girls.”
These contributions are in addition to $5 million recently provided to United Nations agencies for Sri Lanka.
Australia’s development program will support Sri Lanka’s efforts to enhance health security, stability and economic recovery through flexible and responsive approaches that meet Sri Lanka’s emerging needs, building on our long-term development cooperation partnership with Sri Lanka.
In the longer-term it will support stability in Sri Lanka through a range of governance and social inclusion programs. These programs are aimed at supporting Sri Lanka’s efforts to increase economic growth, reduce poverty and inequality, and strengthen the capacity of relevant authorities.
Australia’s programs aim to support a robust, inclusive and sustainable Sri Lankan recovery from the pandemic.
It has redesigned the skills building element of our portfolio to assist with faster economic recovery in selected value chains such as tourism, agriculture and aquaculture.
Australia’s private sector development work will address the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on those most vulnerable, particularly women and people with disabilities.
Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will leverage its partnership with the World Bank to assist recovery of Sri Lanka Small to Medium-sized Enterprises through economic policy reforms.
Australia’s and Sri Lanka’s economic recoveries will be boosted through increased trade and education linkages over the longer-term, as we pursue the objectives of our bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement.
