State Minister Shehan Semasinghe informed Parliament yesterday about several measures Government has taken to mitigate the declining foreign reserves of Sri Lanka.
Following are the key decisions taken by the Government:
- Discussion underway for a currency swap agreement for over a billion US Dollars is to be signed between the Central Banks of Qatar and Sri Lanka.
- A US$ 400 million swap has been received from the Reserve Bank of India under the financial assistance programme of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
- US$ 300 million is to be obtained under the joint loans facility.
- Taken measures for commercial banks to carry our foreign currency exchange programmes amounting to US$ 500 million.
- Facilitate foreign remittances amounting to US$ 500 million through the monetary transactions of Sri Lanka migrant workers.
- Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa has signed agreements with India on the importation of crude, essential goods, and medicines.
- Financial institutions such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have voiced support for financial assistance. (NewsWire)