China on Friday told Sri Lanka that it is ready to provide “urgently needed help,” an offer that came after the South Asian nation deployed its military to quell anger over its worst economic crisis in decades.
“China is willing to play a constructive role to help Sri Lanka achieve stable economic and social development under the principle of non-interference in internal affairs,” Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (李克強) said in a telephone call with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Rajapaksa said he appreciated China’s strong support when his country faced difficulties, Xinhua reported.
Photo: EPA-EFE
It added that he said Sri Lanka is willing to promote talks on a free-trade agreement, and to deepen cooperation in areas including finance, trade and tourism.
Citizens angered by worsening food and fuel shortages and rising living costs have taken to the streets to demand the ouster of the Rajapaksa family.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has ordered a three-day military deployment before the funeral of a protester killed earlier this week when police fired at crowds.
The government in Colombo is seeking as much as US$4 billion in emergency aid this year to help the island nation ease hours-long power cuts, shorten fuel lines that stretch kilometers, and pay for imported medicines and food. With a loan from the IMF contingent upon conditions, including a restructure of existing debt, the island nation is turning to bilateral credit.
Sri Lankan Ambassador to China Palitha Kohona said in WeChat that China’s firm commitment of assistance would contribute significantly.
Kohona said he is confident that China would come through on US$2.5 billion in financial support.
He said he had received reassurances from authorities in China that arrangements for loans and credit lines were progressing.
Sri Lanka was looking to borrow US$1 billion from Beijing so that it can repay existing Chinese loans due in July, as well as a US$1.5 billion credit line to purchase goods from the world’s No. 2 economy such as textiles needed to support the apparel export industry, he said.
Tropical Storm Koto killed three people and left another missing as it approached Vietnam, authorities said yesterday, as strong winds and high seas buffeted vessels off the country’s flood-hit central coast. Heavy rains have lashed Vietnam’s middle belt in recent weeks, flooding historic sites and popular holiday destinations, and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Authorities ordered boats to shore and diverted dozens of flights as Koto whipped up huge waves and dangerous winds, state media reported. Two vessels sank in the rough seas, a fishing boat in Khanh Hoa province and a smaller raft in Lam Dong, according to the
Sri Lanka made an appeal for international assistance yesterday as the death toll from heavy rains and floods triggered by Cyclone Ditwah rose to 123, with another 130 reported missing. The extreme weather system has destroyed nearly 15,000 homes, sending almost 44,000 people to state-run temporary shelters, the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said. DMC Director-General Sampath Kotuwegoda said relief operations had been strengthened with the deployment of thousands of troops from the country’s army, navy and air force. “We have 123 confirmed dead and another 130 missing,” Kotuwegoda told reporters in Colombo. Cyclone Ditwah was moving away from the island yesterday and
The pledge by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to “work, work, work, work and work” for her country has been named the catchphrase of the year, recognizing the effort Japan’s first female leader had to make to reach the top. Takaichi uttered the phrase in October when she was elected as head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Many were initially as worried about her work ethic as supportive of her enthusiasm. In a country notorious for long working hours, especially for working women who are also burdened with homemaking and caregiving, overwork is a sensitive topic. The recognition triggered a
‘HEART IS ACHING’: Lee appeared to baffle many when he said he had never heard of six South Koreans being held in North Korea, drawing criticism from the families South Korean President Lee Jae-myung yesterday said he was weighing a possible apology to North Korea over suspicions that his ousted conservative predecessor intentionally sought to raise military tensions between the war-divided rivals in the buildup to his brief martial law declaration in December last year. Speaking to reporters on the first anniversary of imprisoned former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol’s ill-fated power grab, Lee — a liberal who won a snap presidential election following Yoon’s removal from office in April — stressed his desire to repair ties with Pyongyang. A special prosecutor last month indicted Yoon and two of his top
RSS