In order to help Small States get access to global markets, Sri Lanka pledged financial contribution to setup the Small States Trade Financial Facility yesterday (17), on the margins of the ongoing Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in the United Kingdom. Mangala Samaraweera, Minister of Finance & Mass Media signed this agreement on behalf of Sri Lanka.
Initiated at the CHOGM 2013 Summit in Colombo, the Commonwealth recognised the importance of trade finance for the development of Small States and introduced this innovative blended finance support totalling USD 5 million. It is expected that commonwealth Small States will have access to USD 300 million of incremental trade finance over a three-year period from this programme. As an anchor investor, Sri Lanka has donated USD 1.5 million towards this fund since 2015.
Minister Samaraweera stated that Sri Lanka’s pledge towards this scheme reflects our commitment towards espousing the values and the spirit of this organization in assisting the more vulnerable members in the Commonwealth to develop their economies whose populations productive capacity and domestic markets are limited.
The other countries supporting this endeavour by pledging financial commitment towards this initiative are India, Mauritius and Malta.
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