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Sri Lanka seeks to double ADB funding

The Sri Lankan government is engaged in talks with the Asian Development Bank, seeking to double its annual funding to $1.2bn.

Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said the funds would be utilised by the government for development initiatives, budgetary allocations, capacity development and debt relief, LBO reported.

“We used to get $300 – 350mn annually as funds,” Mr Karunanayake told reporters at a press conference on Thursday.

“Now we are in talks with them to get it increased to $1.200mn,” he said.

However in a recent press conference, ADB said Sri Lanka’s gross domestic growth would slow to 7% this year.

“Due to the prevailing political uncertainty, investments would be affected and it is very difficult for us to make an economic growth prediction,” Tadateru Hayashi, the ADB’s senior country economist for Sri Lanka said.

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