Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday pledged to provide assistance to the tune of 2 billion Yuan to Sri Lanka for the 2018 – 2020 period in addition to Chinese assistance of 400 million yuan for development projects being implemented in the country this year.
The Chinese President made this pledge when he met Prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in Beijing yesterday.He reiterated that China will extend its fullest cooperation to Sri Lanka to promote peace,reconciliation and economic development in the country.
The Chinese President stressed the importance of further improving the bilateral ties when the two nations mark the 60th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between the two nations and 65th anniversary of signing Rubber–Rice Pact between the two nations.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe opined that organising the One Belt–One Road Conference in China and the Chinese President’s participation at the World Economic Summit in Davos will help all countries have closer cooperation and reach common victories.
The Chinese President in turn said that unity among countries will ensure development and prosperity to all and will create an atmosphere to negate adverse the effects of globalisation on the people.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe thanked the Government and the people of China for extending cooperation for Sri Lanka’s development.
The Chinese President also emphasized the need of having a constant dialogue over key projects which are implemented on Chinese financial assistance.
He expressed views on exploring more avenues to have more closer cooperation in the field of air and shipping services, tourism and industry.
The Chinese President also stressed that both countries should strive to promote interaction between intellectuals, professionals, journalists, religious leaders and universities.
Prime Minister Wickeremesinghe stressed the need of strengthening economy by promoting production drive without limiting the focus only on infrastructure development
He thanked the Chinese Government for extending its cooperation to promote production and economy in the country by establishing economic zones adjacent to ports and airports.
The Prime Minister also said that the One Belt–One Road initiative will certainly help Sri Lanka realise its dream of becoming a maritime hub in the South Asian region.
Ministers Dr.Sarath Amunugama, Rauff Hakeem, Sagala Ratnayaka, Malik Samarawickrema, Prime Minister’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake and Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to China Dr.Karunasena Kodithuwakku were also present.