ADB keen to support restructuring of State-Owned Enterprises of Sri Lanka

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday expressed its readiness to fund the restructuring of several State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) of Sri Lanka.

This was communicated to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa when ADB Vice President Shixin Chen called on the former. 

According to a statement from the President’s Media Office, Chen also said that ADB will support the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector for the economic development of the country.

Chen commended the success of ongoing projects in Sri Lanka with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank. 

The ADB has allocated $ 786 million for Sri Lanka this year for implementation of 27 projects. The ADB’s next Annual Meeting will be held in Sri Lanka from 2 to 5 May, with the participation of 68 countries. Simultaneously, plans are afoot to hold several activities, including business conferences. About 5,000 local and foreign representatives are expected to attend these events. The Annual Meeting will be held under the theme ‘Positioning Climate Resilient Green Economy for the post-COVID-19 World’.

The ADB Vice President commended the successful COVID-19 vaccination program and the streamlined health mechanisms implemented by the Government. President Rajapaksa said that the Government and the people of Sri Lanka are grateful for the assistance provided by the ADB to make the vaccination program a success. 

Asian Development Bank Senior Advisor Aiming Zhou, Country Director of Sri Lanka Resident Mission Chen Chen, Secretary General Muhammad Ehsan Khan, Deputy Country Director Utsav Kumar, Secretary to the President P.B. Jayasundera, Finance Secretary S.R. Attygalle, Deputy Secretary to the Treasury R.M.P. Rathnayake, External Resources Department Director General Ajith Abeysekera and Chief Executive Officer Dr. D.S. Jayaweera were also present.