Lanka grants a credit facility of US$ 10 million

Sri Lanka has granted a US$ 10 million credit facility to the Republic of Maldives, the state media announced Thursday, reports the Sri Lankan Daily newspaper, the Colombo Page.

According Colombo Page, an agreement between the Government and the Bank of Ceylon, through which the credit facility is administered, was signed on Thursday in Colombo in the presence of the President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed.

Colombo Page quoted the government of Sri lanka saying that the agreement would be beneficial for economic development of the two countries and will help Sri Lanka to increase its export earnings.

The credit facility is expected to encourage the Maldives to import food supplies, especially fruits and vegetables from Sri Lanka to the hotels in the atolls.

According to the Lankan newspaper, President Nasheedsaid Sri Lanka is the main trading partner of Maldives and he hopes to further strengthen the relationship. He added that Maldivian government will take measures to remove more customs duties on goods imported from Sri Lanka.

Observing that Sri Lanka has achieved rapid economic development during the two years since the end of the war in May 2009, Nasheed said it is an immense achievement for a country that suffered a three-decade long war, reported Colombo Page.

According to Colombo Page, the Chairman of the Bank of Ceylon Dr. GaminiWickremasinghe has said that the Bank expects to open another branch in Maldives before the next SAARC summit to benefit the Sri Lankan exporters and strengthen trade relationships.