The European Union will provide 42 million euros in assistance to Sri Lanka for agriculture and reconciliation. With the majority going to modernisation of agriculture, around 12 million euros has reportedly been allocated towards strengthening the reconciliation process.
Lankabusinessonline.com reports that the reconciliation programme is planned in order to strengthen the governance of reconciliation processes by seeking institutional consensus across various government entities and civil society in addition to contributing towards strengthening the linkages between the government and the grassroots population.
It will also aim to facilitate initiatives that link reconciliation and non-recurrence by addressing language barriers and psycho-social needs, as well as using arts and culture to break down barriers between communities.
The programme is a direct result of the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) conclusions on Sri Lanka in October 2015, which envisaged “new opportunities for the EU to engage with the Government of Sri Lanka in making further progress on reconciliation and support priorities of good governance including tackling corruption, promoting respect for human rights and the rule of law”.
The German foreign office will also contribute 2.4 million euros and the British Council 100,000 euros.
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