By: Staff Writer
Colombo (LNW):The United States is supporting Sri Lanka’s economic recovery especially in green energy, the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung said.
“Facilitating opportunities for local businesses is one way the US is supporting Sri Lanka’s economic recovery,” the Ambassador said.
Sri Lanka stands to benefit from the cutting-edge technology that American companies have to offer, as well as access to U.S.-based project finance.
Delivering a statement US ambassador has suggested Sri Lanka should seize this moment to shift to green technology and renewable energy sources
Clean power is also a priority focus of the Build Back Better World partnership that President Biden announced with our G7 partners last year, she added.
US has launched the $19 million USAID Sri Lanka Energy Program to help transform Sri Lanka’s power sector into a sustainable and reliable market-driven system.
The project will facilitate access to capital and attract investments in support of the government’s renewable energy goals.
USAID’s Transaction Advisory Fund has committed $850,000 to support the competitive development of Floating Solar installations. The project will also work toward improving energy efficiency and demand side management activities in the country and will promote the deployment of advanced technologies.
It is providing technical assistance to VEGA Innovations to help them further develop Sri Lanka’s electric vehicle sector.
This will support VEGA Innovations’ efforts to promote electric vehicles, including electric “tuk tuks,” help pilot a national vehicle charging network, and support the manufacturing of locally designed batteries and inverters.
The eventual transition of the Sri Lankan power sector to a market-driven system will provide more opportunities for Sri Lankan private businesses as well as international investors while helping the country get out of this crisis and rebuild its economy.
This kind of financial assistance often contributes much more to long term, sustainable capacity development than more high profile, but economically dubious, infrastructure projects.
Sri Lanka can grow its exports to and investments in the United States. The United States remains Sri Lanka’s largest single country export market, its contributions to Sri Lankan prosperity are, in this regard, unparalleled.
Sri Lankan exporters to the United States provide direct employment for at least 180,000 people here.
In 2020, U.S. foreign direct investment in Sri Lanka was US $13 million, bringing total active U.S. investment in the country at the time to $274 million.
There is room for improvement in US investment due to the fact that only $17 million had been invested by US five years earlier in 2015.
