New Delhi
The day Sri Lanka backed out of the joint partnership with India and Japan for the much-hyped East Container Terminal (ECT) project at Colombo port, a move that shocked both New Delhi and Tokyo, Sri Lanka’s Central Bank (CBSL) also returned the US $400 million currency swap to India, foreclosing a key debt, IBN reported.
Sri Lanka had availed this facility in July 2020 to meet some immediate expenses during the Covid-induced lockdown. However, both the nations kept quiet about it.
After a section of the media and opposition politicians started talking about a “pissed off” India asking Sri Lanka to return its money, Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) put out a tweet confirming the repayment but denied any pressure or request from India for a premature settlement. However, a leading Sri Lankan economist, opposition MP and former minister Harsha de Silva put out a tweet responding to CBSL’s tweet, implying that Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves are falling drastically and it did not have enough funds to repay the money.
Later in the day, the Govt of India put out a statement confirming the development.
