February 27, 2023, Colombo: Sri Lanka expects its long-standing ties with Saudi Arabia to grow stronger, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said after meeting with a Saudi Fund for Development delegation.
Sabry hosted the Saudi delegation led by Mohammed Almasoud, the SFD’s director of central and west Asia operations, in the capital Colombo and said Sri Lanka was grateful for the fund’s “continuous assistance despite challenges” as well its support on an extension of an International Monetary Fund loan.“The longstanding Sri Lanka-Saudi bilateral relationship will grow from strength to strength,” Sabry said in a tweet.
The minister visited the Kingdom last month, discussing ways to boost economic and energy cooperation between the two countries with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan. Sabry had then presented Sri Lanka as a gateway to south Asia and the rest of the continent as an “ideal place” to do business. His trip followed a series of high-level engagements by Sri Lankan officials with the Kingdom last year.
During Monday’s meeting, the Saudi government pledged to continue providing financial assistance for projects in Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan lawmaker Mohamed Shariff Thowfeek said after participating in the talks. “This was a great gesture from the Saudi government at a time when some countries have stopped their aid in the midst of the economic crisis,” Thowfeek told Arab News.
The SFD has given at least 15 development loans worth $425 million to Sri Lanka, which have financed various water, energy, health, roads, and education projects. This has included support for developing the PBC Highway, which connects the country’s central and eastern provinces. Thowfeek said the SFD would also help finance the construction of a bridge in eastern Sri Lanka, which cost around $5.4 million.
The island nation of 22 million people faces its worst financial crisis since its independence from Britain in 1948, with challenges ranging from a shortage of dollars to runaway inflation and a steep recession.
Sri Lankan officials are working on reaching a final agreement with the IMF to unlock a $2.9 billion bailout to put its battered economy back on track.
