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Sunday March 26th, 2023

US President Biden wishes Sri Lanka on 75-years of self-determination

ECONOMYNEXT – US President Joe Biden has conveyed his best wishes to the people of Sri Lanka as the country marks 75 years of self-determination with the end of British rule.

“US President Joseph R. Biden, in a warmly worded letter of felicitation, conveyed his best wishes to President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the people of Sri Lanka on the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of Sri Lankan Independence,” the office of President Wickremesinghe said in a statement.

“The US President stated that he looks forward to strengthening and deepening the bilateral friendship even further and, together, continuing to advance the shared values and vision for a peaceful, prosperous and secure future for the people of the two countries.”

The letter from President Biden was handed over to President Wickremesinghe by US Under-Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland when she visited Sri Lanka.

The full statement is reproduced below:

US President extends warm wishes to Sri Lanka on its 75th Anniversary of Independence

US President Joseph R. Biden, in a warmly worded letter of felicitation, conveyed his best wishes to President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the people of Sri Lanka on the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of Sri Lankan Independence.

The US President stated that he looks forward to strengthening and deepening the bilateral friendship even further and, together, continuing to advance the shared values and vision for a peaceful, prosperous and secure future for the people of the two countries.

He pointed out that this milestone independence anniversary, coincides with the 75 years of diplomatic relations between the US and Sri Lanka. President Biden acknowledged that this longstanding partnership has helped to advance peace and prosperity across the region and globally.

The US President recalled that both nations – throughout their shared history – “have tackled formidable global challenges, including the combatting of climate change, addressing the scourge of human trafficking and maintaining a secure, free and open Indo-Pacific”.

President Biden pointed out that bilateral trade and economic ties have been strengthened and deepened, and that Sri Lanka and the U.S., as democracies, have always been stronger when standing together, while being united in a shared commitment to freedom, opportunity and equality.

The communication from President Biden was handed over to President Wickremesinghe by the US Under-Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland when she called on President Wickremesinghe on Wednesday (01), at the Presidential Secretariat.

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  1. Johann Deutrom says:

    What does he wishing SL self-determination for? Haven’t SL been self determine for the past 75 years or so? In fact its quite the opposite ,dont you think so?

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  1. Johann Deutrom says:

    What does he wishing SL self-determination for? Haven’t SL been self determine for the past 75 years or so? In fact its quite the opposite ,dont you think so?

Sri Lanka seeks to settle India ACU debt, credit lines over 5-years

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka has requested India to settle payments due to the country under the Asian Clearing Union mechanism and credit lines given in 2022 over 5 years, Indrajit Coomaraswamy, an advisor the island’s government said.

Sri Lanka is negotiating with India to settle the money over a 5-year period, Coomaraswamy, a former central bank governor told an online forum hosted by the Central Bank.

“Our request from the Indians is to settle it over five years,” he said. “That I think is still in the early stages of negotiation. The same with the one billion line of credit.”

Sri Lanka’s central bank owed the ACU 2.0 billion US dollars to the Asian Clearing Union according to a year end debt statement, issued by the Finance Ministry.

Sri Lanka owned India, 1,621 million dollars according to ACU data by year end, excluding interest.

India has given a 1 billion US dollar credit line to Sri Lanka as well a credit line for petroleum.

Sri Lanka in March 2024 has paid 121 million US dollar out of a 331 million US dollar IMF tranche to settle an Indian credit line.

Indian credits were given after the country defaulted in April 2022 as budget support/import when most other bilateral lenders halted giving money. (Colombo/Mar26/2023)

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Sri Lanka coconut auction prices up 1.16-pct

ECONOMYNEXT- Sri Lanka’s coconut auction prices went up by 1.16 percent from a week ago at an auction on Thursday, data showed.

The average price for 1,000 nuts grew to 83,219.45 from 82,260.58 a week earlier at the weekly auction conducted by Sri Lanka’s Coconut Development Authority on March 23.

The highest price was 92,500 rupees for 1,000 nuts up from the previous week’s 90,600 rupees, while the lowest was 76,500 also up from 70,000 rupees.

The auction offered 900,010 coconuts and 583,291 nuts were sold. (Colombo/Mar 26/2023)

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Sri Lanka in talks for billion dollar equivalent Indian rupee swap

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka is in talks with India for a billion US dollar equivalent Indian rupee central bank swap, to facilitate trade, Indrajit Coomaraswamy, ad advisor to the government said.

“The amount is still uncertain it could be up to the equivalent of a billion US dollars,” Coomaraswamy told an online forum hosted by Sri Lanka’s central bank.

The money will be used to facilate India Sri Lanka trade, he said.

India has been trying to popularize the use of Indian rupees for external trade and also encouraged Sri Lanka banks to set up Indian rupee VOSTRO accounts.

However the first step in popularizing a currency for external trade is to get domestic agents, especially exporters, to accept their own currency for trade, like in the case of the US or EU, analysts say.

India’s billion US dollar credit to Sri Lanka given during the 2022 crisis is settled in Indian rupees (transaction need).

However the Indian government itself has chosen to denominate it in US currency for debt purposes (future value).

In most South Asian nations, receivers of remittances are willing to accept domestic currencies, leading to active VOSTRO account transactions.

Sri Lanka is expected to repay a 400 million US dollar swap with the Reserve Bank of India next year under an International Monetary Fund backed program for external stability and debt re-structuring.

Central bank swap proceeds sold to banks, which are then sterilized with inflationary open market operations, can trigger forex shortages and currency crises, analysts warn.

Sri Lanka went to the International Monetary Fund after two years of inflationary monetary operations by the central bank’s issue department (money printed to suppress interest rates) triggered the biggest currency crisis in its history and external sovereign default.

Sri Lanka had gone to the IMF 16 times with similar external troubles except for the April 2003 extended fund facility under Central Bank Governor A S Jayewardene which was a purely reform-oriented program with the World Bank (PRGF/PRSP) program at a time when he was collecting reserves with deflationary monetary policy and perhaps the lowest inflation since the Bretton Woods collapsed. (Colombo/Mar26/2023)

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