Colombo, January 18 (HS): Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Disanayake returned home after completing a four-day official visit to China. Sri Lankan officials say that the President’s visit was very successful. During this, 15 agreements were signed between the two countries. President Disanayake has been assured of an investment of 10 billion US dollars from China and its companies.
According to the Daily Mirror, the Chinese government and industrialists there have shown interest in investing about 10 billion US dollars in Sri Lanka. Sinopec has signed an agreement to invest 3.7 billion US dollars in a state-of-the-art oil refinery with a capacity of 200,000 barrels in Hambantota. This will boost foreign reserves for Sri Lanka. Its production has been planned for export. As a result, this will increase foreign exchange earnings.
Apart from this, a grant of 500 million RMB (Rs 20 billion) will be received from the Chinese government on economic and technical cooperation, establishment of investment and economic cooperation working group, market access for agricultural products in China, cooperation on media and tourism promotion. Both countries have agreed to advance all major projects including Colombo Port City and Hambantota Port Integrated Development.
During the President’s state visit, Sri Lanka has got a chance to attract investment of about 10 billion US dollars from Chinese companies. Chinese President Xi has assured cooperation in economic and trade growth, investment, tourism, digital transformation and multilateral forums. Dissanayake also held talks with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Chairman of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress Zhao Leji and discussed areas of further cooperation. President Dissanayake also addressed the Investment Roundtable in Sri Lanka. It was attended by top representatives of Chinese self-owned enterprises (SOEs) and companies. According to the President’s Media Division, Chinese SOEs expressed their interest in making new investments and expanding existing investment projects in Sri Lanka.
Hindusthan Samachar
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