India-Sri Lanka cooperation extends: India's 10 state-of-the-art railway coaches reach Colombo
10 Mar 2021 15:07:20
Colombo, Mar 10: Sri Lanka has received ten state-of-the-art railway passenger coaches from India as part of the supply of 160 coaches to Sri Lankan Railways by the Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES). The Indian High Commission in Colombo shared through a tweet that, "India-Sri Lanka cooperation in the transport sector continues to expand with the arrival of 10 state-of-the-art railway passenger coaches at the Colombo Port."
The Indian High Commission in Colombo further said that this supply of coaches to Sri Lankan Railways by RITES is being financed through an Indian Line of Credit. Recently, Sri Lanka approved the development of the West Container Terminal (WCT) after it unilaterally cancelled Indian and Japanese participation in the development of the East Container Terminal at Colombo.
India and Sri Lanka have signed a memorandum of understanding for 'co-operation on economic projects' in 2019. The development and operation of the container terminal was one of the projects in the MoU and was a joint venture.
Bilateral trade between India and Sri Lanka amounted to USD 4.59 billion in 2019. In addition to being Sri Lanka’s largest trade partner, India is also one of the largest contributors to Foreign Direct Investment in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan exports to India have increased substantially since 2000 when ISLFTA came into force. Interestingly, over 80 per cent of Indian exports to Sri Lanka are outside the list of products covered by the FTA, thereby indicating their overall competitiveness in the Sri Lankan market.