China signs 16 new agreements with Sri Lanka
Sixteen agreements have been signed during the current visit of Chinese leader Wu Bangguo to Colombo, mostly focusing on infrastructure development in Sri Lanka including USD 760 million aid to help the island nation to become "Asia's miracle".
The agreements signed yesterday ranged from visa exemption and marine development to economic and technology cooperation with expanded investment and increase imports from Sri Lanka, official media here reported.
Wu, a second ranking Communist Party leader after President Hu Jintao is the highest Chinese official to visit Colombo after the end of ethnic war between Sri Lankan army and LTTE.
Prior to his visit, the Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie visited Colombo while on his way to New Delhi this month.
Chinese officials said the expanded cooperation demonstrates deepened political trust, and will help make Sri Lanka a "Asia's miracle" in terms of economic growth, state-run China Daily reported.
The agreements included exemption of holders of diplomatic and service passports of each other countries from visa requirements. Cooperation on marine development and management, and economic and technological cooperation, will be boosted, it said.
Other agreements include favourable loans offered by Chinese banks to some major infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka and cooperation on telecommunication and railway system renovation.
No details of these agreements have been revealed, the Daily said.
The Sino-Sri Lankan bilateral trade volume reached $3. 14 billion in 2011, registering an increase of 49.8 percent year-on-year.
China also remains involved in almost all the large-scale projects under construction in Sri Lanka.
Some of the biggest projects financed by China include
Lesson
ALok | 18-Sep-2012Reply | Forward The Central Govt should have independent policy with Sri Lanka and let the DMK and AIDMK fight and confine to TN. We have lost support and sympathy from all our neighbours Nepal, Bangladesh, Burma, Sri Lanka because of parties like TMC, DMK, AIDMK etc Why regional party should decide India's foreign policiesUS dictation to UPA
Ind | 18-Sep-2012Reply | Forward UPA's policy failure listening to US dictation led to the loss of Hambanthota port and with it the initiative was lost. Tamil Nadu will neither develop nor allow Sri Lanka to develop, just as Pakistan does to Kashmir. Same is the case of Indian foreign policy following US dictation.A PRESUMPTION !
Dr.M.M.HAZARIKA PhD | 18-Sep-2012Reply | Forward What we can well say that this is a total collapse of INDIA's Foreign Policy.It is good that two Countries having carrying of an exact opposite political views joining hands together for betterment of us but we fear that one shall swallow the other in due course of time.
China SL agreements
Sasidharan | 18-Sep-2012Reply | Forward Totally agree with your observation. Indian external affairs ministry is clueless on what's happening in the neighbourhood nor have any idea as to how to handle external environement. Why blame External Affairs Ministry, all the ministries are paralysed, as they are clueless and directionless. This is the first time in independant India, a total systemic numbness happened.
