No talks yet to amend MCC, Cabraal tells Parliament

Friday, 11 September 2020 00:28 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Clauses adverse to country identified by committee appointed by President
Says like all international agreements, MCC too will undergo review
Opp. Leader questions Govt. duplicity on MCC, being against it when in Opp. and now for it

The Government has not held discussions with Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) yet to amend the agreement in a manner so as to remove its clauses that have been deemed detrimental to the country, Capital Markets and State Enterprises Reforms State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal told

State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal

Parliament yesterday.

Responding to a question raised by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa on the proposed agreement with the MCC, Minister Cabraal said the Government had been able to identify the adverse clauses of the agreement through the Committee appointed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to review the Compact.

Cabraal said that the Government would follow the usual procedure when reviewing any international treaty. It was as a part of the procedure that a committee had been appointed to study the proposed MCC agreement and to make necessary recommendations, he said.

Premadasa in his statement queried if the Government would tear up the MCC agreement as it had pledged to do during the election campaign.

He said that the MCC proposed agreement had been one of the main issues of the SLPP election propaganda campaign. The SLPP pledged that it would refrain from signing the MCC Agreement. However, after the election, the members of the Government have said 70% of the agreement is favourable to the country.