Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa is to lead a delegation to the \u2018Vibrant Gujarat\u2019 summit to be held from January 10 to 12, official sources said. He is likely to hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during this visit, his second to India in about a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Minister \u2014 the youngest brother of Sri Lanka\u2019s ruling clan and an influential politician \u2014 would travel to India a day after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi concludes his two-day visit to the island nation, signalling Colombo\u2019s intensive engagement with both New Delhi and Beijing at a time when it faces one of its worst economic meltdowns in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr. Basil Rajapaksa was in New Delhi from November 30 to December 2. Despite officials indicating that he was scheduled to call on Mr. Modi, the meeting did not take place, reportedly due to scheduling issues \u2013 something that Sri Lankan media highlighted prominently in their coverage of the high-profile visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He, however, held talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. They drew up a \u201cfour pillar\u201d initiative, as part of which India agreed to extend emergency Lines of Credit for import of food, medicines and fuel, and a currency swap to help the island nation tide over its relentless dollar crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sri Lanka\u2019s external reserves stood at $3.1 billion at year-end, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka said on Wednesday \u2014 an increase from the $1.6 billion reported last month \u2014 although some have challenged the claim, asking if the bank was including the $1.5 billion currency swap cleared by China earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Colombo-based think tank Pathfinder Foundation has warned of a \u201ca very real possibility of a sovereign debt default\u201d next year, citing the $ 1 billion due in debt-service payment in January 2022, and a total $ 7 billion to be served through the next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
American credit rating agency Fitch on December 17 downgraded Sri Lanka to \u2018CC\u2019 rating, the lowest before default.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Courtesy: The Hindu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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