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Ministers Basil Rajapaksa, Jaishankar and Sitharaman witness the signing of the USD 1 billion Indo – Lanka Loan Agreement

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Ministers Basil Rajapaksa, Jaishankar and Sitharaman witness the signing of the USD 1 billion Indo – Lanka Loan Agreement

Ministers Basil Rajapaksa, Jaishankar and Sitharaman witness the signing of the USD 1 billion Indo – Lanka Loan Agreement

Concluding his two-day official visit to New Delhi, Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa today (17) witnessed the signing of the agreement pertaining to the Short-Term Concessional Loan facility of USD 1 billion extended by the Government of India to the Government of Sri Lanka through the State Bank of India.

The USD 1 billion loan facility, which formed the key component of the four-pillar economic cooperation arrangement agreed between India and Sri Lanka during Minister Rajapaksa’s visit to New Delhi in December last year, was extended to the Government of Sri Lanka for procurement of food, medicines and other essential items.

The signing ceremony was held at the Ministry of Finance in New Delhi this afternoon in the presence of Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, the External Affairs Minister of India Dr. S. Jaishankar and the Indian Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman. Managing Director of the State Bank of India Shri Ashwini Kumar Tewari and the Bank’s General Manager Shri Vinod Kumar were also present on this occasion.

Secretary to the Ministry of Finance S. R. Attygalle signed the agreement on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, with Deputy General Manager Shri Pushkar Jha signing on behalf of the State Bank of India.

Prior to the signing ceremony, Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa was received jointly by the Finance and External Affairs Ministers of India for bilateral talks at the Finance Ministry in the North Block.
During the bilateral talks, the two sides agreed to set up a framework for short, medium and long-term economic cooperation between the two countries aimed at addressing Sri Lanka’s present economic challenges.

With this objective, the three Ministers agreed to stay in regular contact and a coordinating mechanism consisting of senior officials from the two countries was set up to maintain a regular dialogue.
Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa was accompanied to this meeting by Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance S. R. Attygalle and Deputy High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India Niluka Kadurugamuwa.

Earlier in the day, Minister Rajapaksa met with India’s Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy Shri Raj Kumar Singh and discussed the ways and means to further deepen and broaden bilateral cooperation in the power and renewable energy sector. Chief Economic Adviser of the Government of India, Prof. A. Nageswaran also called on Finance Minister Rajapaksa.

Power cut plan for Friday revealed

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Power cut plan for Friday revealed

A five hour-power cut will be taking place tomorrow (18) as approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL).

Accordingly, a power cut of 05 hours will occur in zones A – L, with a power cut of 03 hours and 20 minutes from 08 am to 06 pm and a power cut of 01 hour and 40 minutes from 06 pm to 11 pm.

Meanwhile, a power cut of 03 hours and 15 minutes will occur in zones P – W, with a power cut of 02 hours from 09 am to 05 pm and a power cut of 01 hour and 15 minutes from 05 pm to 10 pm.

MIAP

Sri Lanka enters agreement for US$01 billion debt facility from India

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Sri Lanka enters agreement for US$01 billion debt facility from India

The agreement providing a debt facility of US$01 billion was signed between Sri Lanka and India today (17). The agreement was signed by the Deputy General Manager of the State Bank of India on behalf of the Government of India and Secretary to the Finance Ministry of Sri Lanka, S.R. Attygalle.

Sri Lankan Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa together with a group of Sri Lankan delegates left for India for the final discussions regarding the debt facility yesterday and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with several senior government officials, including the Foreign Minister.

The US$01 billion debt facility will be used to purchase essential food items for the next few months, and accordingly, essential items, including wheat flour, sugar and rice, will be purchased from India.

MIAP

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Ashooshesh Ashoori reunite with families after years in Iranian prison

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Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Ashooshesh Ashoori reunite with families after years in Iranian prison

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori have been reunited with their families in the UK after years of detention in Iran.

The British-Iranian nationals were met by their loved ones at RAF Brize Norton in the early hours of Thursday.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s seven-year-old daughter Gabriella rushed to hug her mother, who she had not seen in years.

Mr Ashoori’s daughter Elika spoke of her happiness at seeing her father, sharing a video of the pair’s arrival.

Gabriella was heard asking “is that mummy?” before her mother walked down the plane’s stairs at the airport in Oxfordshire.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 43, and Mr Ashoori, 67, finally left Tehran on Wednesday after their release was secured following months of negotiations.

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the pair’s departure from Iran had been uncertain until the last minute, but they were in good spirits.

MP Tulip Siddiq said Gabriella had asked her if her father Richard was “pulling her leg” about her mother coming home.

“My heart just broke,” she said, adding that when she told her she was, Gabriella started playing the piano and singing.

Richard Ratcliffe’s sister Rebecca said “a little girl has finally got her mummy and daddy back” alongside a picture of the family.

She told the BBC the two families had gone to a safe house and “Gabriella slept in between Richard and Nazanin for the first time in six years, so a very special moment”.

She said she had had a message from her brother on Thursday morning and described him as “very buoyant”.

He had said it was “lovely to be with his family again”, she added.

It marked the end of an ordeal that saw Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe detained for six years after being accused in 2016 of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government.

She was sentenced to a further year in prison in April last year and a one-year travel ban on charges of propaganda against the government.

Mr Ashoori, a retired civil engineer, was detained in 2017 on spying charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Both have consistently and vigorously denied the allegations.

BBC

Special trade tax surges prices of several items including food!

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Special trade tax surges prices of several items including food!

The Finance Ministry has decided to increase the prices of items belonging to nine categories including food items, following the imposition of a special trade tax.

Accordingly, the prices of imported apple, grapes, oranges and pomegranate, imported yogurt and imported cheese will soar upon the special trade tax.

In the imposition of the tax, the tax on a kilogram of apples will soar by Rs. 200 and the tax on a kilogram of grapes by Rs. 100.

The tax will also increase the tax on a kilogram of oranges by Rs. 75 and the tax on a kilogram of pomegranate by Rs. 100.

Meanwhile, the tax on a kilogram of imported yogurt will soar by Rs. 100 and on a kilogram of imported cheese, Rs. 400.

In the backdrop, the retail prices in the market are also likely to soar.

MIAP

Fuel queues over. Every shed in Colombo given a bowser: Lokuge

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Fuel queues over. Every shed in Colombo given a bowser: Lokuge

Fuel queues in the Colombo city are declining suggested Energy Minister Gamini Lokuge. These queues occurred due to the inconsistent distribution of fuel during the last few days, he added speaking to media today (17).

The people will no longer be kept in queues in the event that the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CEYPETCO) has enough diesel and petrol stocks, Lokuge promised.

The supply of diesel and petrol to all petrol stations in Colombo has commenced and a significant number of petrol stations have been given stocks by noon, he went on, revealing that another ship carrying diesel has been paid off and the stocks will be unloaded tomorrow.

However, many long queues were seen near fuel stations in the Colombo city this afternoon as well, according to correspondents.

MIAP

President says no truth in the reports that the CBSL Governor was asked to step down…

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President says no truth in the reports that the CBSL Governor was asked to step down…

A statement issued by the Presidential Media Unit states that the media reports that the Governor of the Central Bank Ajith Nivard Cabraal has been informed to resign from his post are completely untrue.

The President has stated that Ajith Nivard Cabraal has maintained his confidence as the Governor of the Central Bank to the fullest and is assisting him in overcoming the economic challenges facing the country.

However, the President has requested the Governor of the Central Bank not to be discouraged by such false propaganda and to continue his role for the stability and development of the country.

The President also said that the Governor of the Central Bank has the ability to successfully respond to the serious economic challenges facing the country.

Government’s ill-planned licence scheme to restrict imports hit importers

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Government’s ill-planned licence scheme to restrict imports hit importers

Cash strapped Government’s ill-planned import ban introducing a licence scheme for importers to protect Sri Lankan foreign reserves is negatively impacting the economy, commodity importers association complained..

Sri Lanka requires import licenses for more than 400 items at the six-digit level of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule to restrict non essential imports into the country.

Approval of these licences is at the discretion of the regulators; no standard practices are followed, and requirements can vary.

Regulators entrusted with evaluating products to be imported often lack the capacity to make scientific determinations, and a zero-risk policy is followed in lieu of scientific rationale.

Import of telecommunication equipment requires approval from the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and a license issued by the import controller. Some items which are under Import Control License (ICL) are temporarily banned under the April 2020 import restrictions.

The government has introduced a licencing system to traders who imported goods and for the issue of direct user licenses for essential commodity import for the disbursement of forex subject to the overall direction of the Finance Ministry and Controller of Imports and Exports, a Finance Ministry official said.

The amount of exchange on each import control licence was totally inadequate to meet the demand of essential commodities at present and therefore it will be very difficult to issue new permits for non essential items as stipulated by the Finance Ministry at present, he explained.

This will create shortage of practically every essential item; the shortage will also lead to the non-availability of food items for tourists and other essentials.

He added that this latest decision of the government will hit the tourism industry which is on the verge of recovering from the COVID -19 pandemic set back.

With the scarcity of forex, the Government resorted to seek Indian lines of credit but aid for commodity imports was not forthcoming he disclosed adding that in one instance aid was given, on an Indian Line of credit, for the import of fuel only.

Sri Lanka is facing a shortage of essential commodities such as rice, sugar, dhall, chickpeas, coriander etc as imported stocks are stuck in the Port of Colombo (as far back as November 2021), not being able to clear it in the current foreign exchange crisis, commodity importers complained.

They noted that port rent and container demurrages are accumulating on a daily basis (in some instances the cost per kg was Rs. 35-40), they pointed out.

Members of the Essential Food Commodities Importers and Traders Association have also imported and distributed food items such as dhall and rice on “Suppliers Credit” (DA terms) which are overdue for settlement and some suppliers are requesting payment.

This issue has been brought to the notice of the President in a letter dated March 1, 2022, P.M. Abeysekera, Consultant of Essential Food Commodities Importers and Traders Association told the Business Times.

He added that there was a serious threat for food security in the country as most suppliers are reluctant to ship goods to Sri Lanka unless paid in advance.

As the Sinhala and Tamil New Year is fast approaching, the association has urged the President to intervene in this matter of clearing these food items from the port to avoid price hike due to short supply.

The Central Bank has told banks not to request dollars from the banking regulator’s depleted foreign currency reserves, and instead find it in the cash-short market as the country faces a major scarcity of dollars in the forex market.

This has resulted in several private banks being unable to open Letters of Credit (LCs) to importers even for essential items such as pharmaceutical products.

According to a Central Bank directive, commercial banks dealing in the inter-bank foreign exchange market have been restricted in maintaining foreign currency reserves and managing foreign exchange liquidity within the banking system.

This has created a shortage of dollars in the country for transactions involving individual or institutional customers, Finance Ministry sources confirmed.

This situation has worsened unexpectedly due to the devaluation of the rupee, a leading importer said, adding that though importers are willing to buy at higher rates, dealers are reluctant to place orders.

Sri Lanka importers have been badly hit by a foreign currency scarcity as the banks are now refusing to open Letters of Credit even for the importation of essential commodities; Mr. Abeysekera said adding that the Central Bank should take the responsibility for this situation.

The silent protest organized at Kohuwala Junction continues for the 16th day

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The silent protest organized at Kohuwala Junction continues for the 16th day

A silent protest was held at Kohuwala Junction for the 16th day last night (16) against the current government.

The protest was organized with the participation of the people of the area without any political affiliation and was carried out by lighting candles and displaying placards.

Presidential Secretariat states that payments have been made for the 02 gas ships

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Presidential Secretariat states that payments have been made for the 02 gas ships

The Presidential Secretariat states that payments have been made for the two gas ships that have been anchored in the sea near the Port of Colombo for more than a week. Accordingly, the stocks of gas stored in the relevant vessels will be unloaded expeditiously.

The Presidential Secretariat says that the unloading of gas will begin today.

The two ships were anchored in Sri Lankan waters for 11 days due to non-issuance of dollars required for payment.

Litro announced yesterday that it had run out of gas. As a result, gas filling and distribution operations have been suspended, the company said.

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