India has emerged as the largest bilateral lender of Sri Lanka with a $968 million total in loans in four months in 2022, overtaking China as per the report.
India has emerged as the largest bilateral lender of Sri Lanka with a $968 million total in loans in four months in 2022, overtaking China as per the report.
In the last five years from 2017-2021, China had been the largest bilateral lender to Sri Lanka by disbursing $947 million to them, out of which $809 million were obtained as market borrowings from the China Development Bank as per the report by Daily Financial Times (FT) citing Public Finance.Lk.
It also said that Asian Development Bank (ADB) was the largest multilateral lender in the past five years and disbursed $610 million amounts of funds in 2021.
India and ADB have disbursed $377 million and $360 million amounts which accounts for 76% of the total disbursements in the first four months of 2022, reports the Daily FT.
At a UNGA Annual Joint Dabate on the reports of the Peace Building Commission (PBC) and Peace Building Funds (PBF), the permanent representative of India to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj said that India had provided assistance of nearly $4 billion in food and finance to Sri Lanka.
India handed over 21,000 tonnes of fertilizer to the crisis-ridden neighbor Sri Lanka on August 22.
The High Commission of India in Colombo, Sri Lanka had mentioned in a tweet that 44,000 tonnes were supplied last month, including 21,000 tonnes of fertilizer under Indian support totaling about $4 billion in 2022.Â
Sri Lanka has experienced an escalating economic crisis since the beginning of 2022 and has defaulted on its foreign loans.
With this severe economic crisis, Sri Lanka is battling with food and fuel scarcity affecting a large number of people on the island nation with the free-falling economy since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sri Lanka is also facing a shortage of foreign exchange, which in addition has affected its capacity to import food and fuel, which is leading to power cuts in the nation. Thus, the shortage of essential goods has forced the country to seek assistance from friendly countries.
Also read: IMF approved giving 2.9 billion for Sri Lankan aid
