India soft loan for Lanka for solar energy |
India has extended a USD 100 million bilateral line of credit as a soft loan to Sri Lanka to help finance various solar energy projects to help the country meet 70 percent power requirements through renewable energy sources by 2030. An agreement signed between the Sri Lankan government and the Export-Import Bank of India was exchanged by High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay and Secretary to the Treasury S R Attygalle in the presence of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on 16th June. The High Commission in a statement said the LOC will help finance various projects in the solar energy sector in Sri Lanka, including those announced during the Founding Conference of the International Solar Alliance held in March 2018, such as rooftop solar photo-voltaic systems for households and government buildings. President Rajapaksa and the High Commissioner of India discussed the striking similarity in the two countries` objectives for solar energy. India said it is the first country to partner with Sri Lanka in fulfilling the vision of the President of Sri Lanka to ensure that 70 per cent of Sri Lanka`s national power requirements are fulfilled by renewable energy sources by 2030, as reiterated during his address at the recently concluded Sri Lanka Investment Forum. A total of 89 countries, including Sri Lanka, have signed the Framework Agreement of the ISA, which was jointly launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former French president Francois Hollande to bring together countries to promote large-scale deployment of solar energy and overcome challenges related to technology, finance and capacity.
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