India, Sri Lanka agree to facilitate mutual investments through policy consistency

India, Sri Lanka have agreed to facilitate mutual investments through policy consistency, promoting ease of doing business

New Delhi: India, Sri Lanka have agreed to facilitate mutual investments through policy consistency, promoting ease of doing business and fair treatment of each other’s investors.

This has been done to facilitate investments from India in the divestment of Sri Lankan State-owned Enterprises and in manufacturing/economic zones in various sectors in Sri Lanka; to undertake discussions on Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement with an aim to comprehensively enhance bilateral trade and investments in new and priority areas, according to a bilateral document issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

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As per the document titled Promoting Connectivity, Catalysing Prosperity: India-Sri Lanka Economic Partnership Vision, the decision to designate INR as currency for trade settlements between the two countries has forged stronger and mutually beneficial commercial linkages and agreed to operationalise UPI-based digital payments for further enhancing trade and transactions between businesses and common people.

The two countries have agreed that India’s rapid digitalisation is an important force-multiplier for ongoing transformational changes in India, both in economic development and governance, and agreed to leverage India’s Digital Public Infrastructure in accordance with Sri Lanka’s requirements and priorities towards effective and efficient delivery of citizen-centric services to the people of Sri Lanka India, Sri Lanka on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the field of renewable energy. Another MoU was signed on cooperation for economic development projects in the Trincomalee district of Sri Lanka.

The two countries issued a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) in the field of Animal Husbandry and Dairying and Network to Network Agreement between NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) and Lanka Pay for UPI application acceptance in Sri Lanka.

An Energy Permit was issued for the Sampur Solar Power Project.

This comes as the Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday arrived in Delhi on a two-day official visit to India. Union Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs V Muraleedharan welcomed Wickremesinghe at the airport.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met the Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe, the two discussed issued of mutual interest. “PM @narendramodi warmly welcomes President @RW_UNP of Sri Lanka at the Hyderabad House ahead of the bilateral talks. An opportunity to review and lend further momentum to the long-standing – ties, as the two countries celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations this year,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi  said in a tweet. The talks were held in Hyderabad House in New Delhi.

To boost the economic partnership between the two nations, India and Sri Lanka adopted a vision document that would strengthen people-to-people connectivity and Maritime cooperation, trade, and power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Friday.

“Today, we have adopted a vision document for our economic partnership. The vision is to strengthen maritime, air, energy and people-to-people connectivity between the two peoples. The vision is to accelerate mutual cooperation in tourism, electricity, business, higher education, and skill development,”PM Modi said.

In a joint press statement along with Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe in New Delhi on Friday, PM Modi also said that the two nations have decided to start ferry services from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka.

“We agree on the enhancement of air connectivity between India and Sri Lanka. To increase trade and travel by people, we have taken the decision to start passenger ferry services between Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu and Kankesanturai in Sri Lanka,” PM Modi said.

The two sides also decided to work towards early resumption of ferry services between Rameshwaram and Talaimannar, and other mutually agreed places.