Chennai: The initiative by India and Sri Lanka for power grid connectivity for electricity trading will help to reduce electricity tariffs in Sri Lanka. The move will also help Sri Lanka gain revenue, said Vice Chairman, Confederation of Indian Industry, Srivats Ram at the Invest Sri Lanka Forum on Wednesday in Chennai.
He said that new developments that took place between the two countries in recent times have brought the neighbours close to each other.
These include the launching of direct flights between Jaffna and Chennai, launching a passenger ferry service between Chennai and Hambantota and most importantly the acceptance of the Indian Rupee as a designated currency in Sri Lanka.
He said that the visit of President Ranil Wickremesinghe to India also made a tremendous positive impact among the Indian public and investors.
He said that today Tamil Nadu (TN) is an emerging economic giant and called upon Sri Lankan investors to explore the possibility of launching enterprises in TN. “We offer very flexible and friendly incentives for investors.”
Director Research, Central Bank Sri Lanka, Dr. D. P. Harishchandra said that India was Sri Lanka’s largest trading partner with over USD 5 bn in total trade in 2022. India was also the third largest export destination with exports to the value of USD 0.9 billion and was also the largest import source - USD 4.7 billion.
“Sri Lanka has approved the Indian rupee (INR) for trading and now Indian traders can do transactions in INR with Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is also a beneficiary of GSP schemes, such as EU GSP+, US GSP, where Indian investors could produce in Sri Lanka and receive tariff benefits from such GSP schemes,” he said. State Minister for Finance Shehan Semasinghe, the chief guest, outlined how Sri Lanka fell into economic recession and how the country recovered from it sooner than expected.
He thanked India for the positive role it played towards turning around Sri Lanka. Asked by the audience during the panel discussion whether private universities could be set up in Sri Lanka, the Minister said they are most welcome to do so.
“We are spending a lot of forex to send our children for overseas education and we would like if universities are set up in Sri Lanka. First, this money will be retained in Sri Lanka and second, we can attract foreign students to study here,” the State Minister said.