Finance Minister leads delegation to ADB AGM in Fiji

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera will lead the Sri Lankan Delegation to the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank to be held in Nadi, Fiji from 2 to 5 May. 

The Annual Meeting of the ADB Board of Governors provide opportunities for member governments to interact with ADB staff, Non-Government Organisations (NGOs), and representatives of observer countries, international organisations, and the private sector. 

ADB’s annual meetings have become a premier forum for the discussion of economic and social development issues in Asia and the Pacific. 

Delegates from 67 member countries will attend this meeting and the Sri Lankan delegates include Secretary to Treasury Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga, Deputy Secretary to Treasury A.M.P.M.B. Atapattu, External Resources Department Director General Priyantha Rathnayake, National Planning Department Director General S.S. Mudalige and other senior officials from the Ministry of Finance. 

ADB provides concessionary project loans to Sri Lanka annually amounting to approximately $ 800 million and there are already eight funding proposals in the pipeline to the tune of $ 815 million for the year 2019, of which the Port access elevated highway with $ 300 million funding is ongoing now. 

The negotiations for the Railway efficiency improvement project loan of $ 160 million will be held in Colombo in May. This project is aimed at improving the railway signalling system and the age-old ticketing system.

On the sidelines of the ADB annual meeting arrangements have also been made to conduct the SAARC conference of Ministers of Finance on 2 May, at Nadi in Fiji.