Doner pledges help country rehabilitation projections

Finance Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama expressed satisfaction with the response from the donors who pledged over 2.2 billion dollars at the Sri Lanka Development Forum which started in Kandy on Monday.

He told a press briefing that the recovery process has been very intense and the pledges had helped in the country achieving its projections for rehabilitating the tsunami-devastated areas of coastal Sri Lanka. Treasury Secretary, P. B. Jayasundara, said the total amount pledged included $745 million in bilateral assistance, $631 million by multilateral agencies and $853 million through NGOs.

"The commitment by the donors for "outright grants" amounting to $1.95 billion would not affect the budgetary position, Dr. Jayasundara said. He said a further $300 million is likely to accrue in the form of debt-relief.

He also thanked which recently announced a three-year debt moratorium becoming the first country to provide debt relief, based on the request of the Sri Lankan Government. Here, Dr. Jayasundara, Minister Amunugama, Deputy Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya and Secretary, Ministry of Social Services, Tilak Ranaviraja addressing the press briefing.