COLOMBO: During Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit, Sri Lanka and China signed four agreements; namely an agreement on Economic and Technical Co-operation, the Letter of Exchange on the project of 2,000 subsidised housing units for the low-income category in Colombo, the Handover Certificate of the Technical Cooperation Project for the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference […]Read More

A meeting between Sri Lanka’s Minister of Finance Basil Rajapaksa and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which was scheduled to be held on Thursday has failed to materialise for what government sources indicated were scheduling issues, The Morning has learnt. However, the Minister of Finance did meet India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in New […]Read More

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa is expected to visit India in early December, while reports from the government stated that the impending Indian tour could even take place this week. The Finance Minister had sought meetings with several senior members of the Indian Government including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministers […]Read More

Emphasising that the policy of the government is to direct agricultural activity in the country entirely towards the use of organic fertilisers, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that the officials who do not agree with it are free to leave. “Stressing the need for officials to seek solutions for the protesting farmers within the green agriculture […]Read More

The Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of India has handed over documentation related to a request by Sri Lanka for an urgent line of credit, valued at $500 million, to the respective Indian parties for negotiations with the Sri Lankan Government, The Sunday Morning has learnt. “The EXIM Bank of India has given the documents to the […]Read More

Basil Rohana Rajapaksa, the founder of Sri Lanka’s ruling party Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), has secured yet another political victory after being sworn into the finance portfolio and returning to Parliament. After weeks of campaigning by Basil loyalists in the SLPP that resulted in fractures within the party, the final decision on Basil’s return to Parliament […]Read More

COLOMBO: The issue of the Colombo Port City Economic Commission is now done and dusted, with Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena signing and validating the Bill, which was passed by Parliament the previous week. Thereby, the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act is now effective. However, the legislation has thrown up several key geopolitical issues, from […]Read More

Relationships and understanding among all countries in Asia and around the world should be strengthened to combat the challenges thrown up by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has said. Delivering the keynote speech at the “Future of Asia” International Conference, he stated that all nations should unite and work with confidence […]Read More

The development of the West Container Terminal (WCT) of Colombo Port should be carried out with a shipping company, not with the Indian Adani Group of Companies, say trade unions attached to the Colombo Port. Adani may be suitable to the government for the development of the WCT but it is not suitable to the […]Read More

COLOMBO: As a decisive week approaches for Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), with the Core Group resolution on Sri Lanka to be taken up for vote, the Sri Lankan Government has decided to face the vote, even with the surety of being defeated, rather than opt for a last-minute consensual resolution. […]Read More

COLOMBO: Amidst rising pressure from India to respect the tripartite agreement signed between Sri Lanka, India, and Japan for the development of the East Container Terminal (ECT) at the Colombo Port, the Sri Lankan government is in the process of making a new proposal for the Cabinet-approved West Container Terminal (WCT) instead. The new proposal […]Read More

COLOMBO: A committee formed by Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Ports and Shipping will begin discussions pertaining to development of the West Container Terminal (WCT) today. Secretary to the Ministry of Ports and Shipping U.D.C. Jayalal told The Morning yesterday that the committee will discuss the proposed shareholding split of 85-15 in favour of India. This […]Read More

COLOMBO: It has been a week since the Sri Lankan Government changed its plan to offer 49 per cent stake in the East Container Terminal (ECT) of the Colombo Port to India, specifically its giant conglomerate Adani Group, reneging on a tripartite agreement signed with India and Japan in 2019. The Indian Government has not […]Read More

COLOMBO: The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) is set to offer 85 per cent stake in the West Container Terminal of the Colombo Port to India in order to retain 100 per cent ownership of the East Container Terminal (ECT), The Morning has reliably learnt. The shareholding has been split this way to allow India […]Read More

COLOMBO: The breakwater of the Colombo Port City, officially known as Colombo International Financial City (CIFC), has been damaged twice during the construction period up to now, The Sunday Morning has reliably learnt. The second and most recent incident had occurred in mid-2019 due to heavy winds that created powerful waves. When The Sunday Morning […]Read More

COLOMBO: The United States has banned Army Commander Shavendra Silva and his immediate family members from entering the country over ‘credible’ war crime charges. The statement issued by US Secretary of State, Michael R. Pompeo, is reproduced below; The Department of State has designated Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, current Commander of the Sri Lanka Army […]Read More