Mr. Karunananyake told reporters at an event organised by the Foreign Correspondents’ Association of Sri Lanka here on Thursday night that the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March showed “warmth” between the two countries. “It is for us to encash it into investments and move forward,” he said, describing the level of engagement as “super.”

Shipping and open-aviation policy were among the other areas of cooperation.

On the currency swap agreement with India, the Finance Minister said his country had so far used $ 400 million. It could go up to $ 1.5 billion.

[Announced by Mr Modi during his visit, the agreement is between the Reserve Bank of India and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. It is meant to keep the Sri Lankan rupee stable].

Taxation

On taxation, he said his government was for lowering of taxes, better compliance and more equitable distribution of resources.

To another query, the Minister said the government’s plan was to develop Sri Lanka into a “mini-financial centre” as neighbouring countries such as India, Pakistan, Maldives and Bangladesh would find the country an ideal place.

(thehindu.com)