News
Japanese largesse for Sri Lanka
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe yesterday pledged to President Maithripala Sirisena over fifty billion rupees in assistance from his country.
President Maithripala Sirisena with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
The funds will be for the construction of power transmission lines and water supply projects in the North Central Province. It will also be used for construction of power transmission lines in the Eastern Province. Premier Abe made the offer of assistance when he held talks in Nagoya with President Sirisena.
A media statement issued by both Japan and Sri Lanka said yesterday that the transmission lines would allow electricity generated at the power plants that Sri Lanka planned in the Eastern Province to be transmitted to the City of Colombo.
Premier Abe, the statement said, also agreed to “positively consider” the provision of a Development Policy Loan (DPL), which supports policy and institutional reform in micro economic and public finance management as well as in the private sector. During the talks, the two leaders recognised the importance of port development in Sri Lanka, as a key hub nation in the Indian Ocean given the rising demand and the rapid growth of the region. Prime Minister Abe stated that Japan would actively continue its cooperation in the development of the Colombo port and its vicinity under the public and private sector cooperation as well as send a survey mission to study the needs and the logistics for hub development of the north port of Colombo and its surrounding areas, as well as the development of the port of Trincomalee. Prime Minister Abe also conveyed Japan’s decision to extend assistance for the development of a master plan for the City of Kandy, which would enable the urban development needs of the ancient city with appropriate consideration for the protection of the cultural heritage. The two leaders welcomed Sri Lanka’s decision to adopt the Japanese system of Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting (DTTB) and the progress of bilateral work to ensure a smooth transition to the DTTB Japanese system, including the establishment of a bilateral Joint Committee to facilitate implementation of the project and holding the first meeting of the committee in June. President Sirisena stated that the implementation of Digitalisation of Terrestrial Analogue Television has been assigned to the Ministry of Parliamentary Reforms and Mass Media. Both leaders welcomed the convening of the first round of the Policy Dialogue at the Senior Official Level of the two Foreign Ministries and the inaugural Sri Lanka-Japan Dialogue on Maritime Security, Safety and Oceanic Issues in January 2016 in Colombo, where the two maritime states reconfirmed the importance of maintaining the freedom of the high seas and maritime order based on the rule of law.