June 9, 2016 Reading Time: 2 minutes
US, Japan and India to hold joint naval exercise in the Western Pacific. Image credit - dovapi /depositphotos
Reading Time: 2 min read
China EXIM Bank provides new loan
The Cabinet has approved a USD 90.5 million loan agreement between the Government and the China EXIM Bank. The loan will fund consultancy services for the Southern Expressway extension, between Matara and Hambantota.
The proposed loan will have an annual interest rate of 2%, and a repayment period of 20 years. Four contracts have already been signed between the Government and the China EXIM Bank to finance construction of the Expressway.
Sri Lanka and India sign MoU
The High Commissioner of India, Y.K. Sinha, and the Secretary to the Minister of Women’s and Child Affairs, Chandrani Senaratne, have signed an MOU to build a women’s community learning center in Ampara, Sri Lanka.
The project will be implemented within two years, and aims to empower women by imparting livelihood skills in garment making and agro-food processing.
Government considers disaster relief mechanism
The Sri Lankan government has discussed the implementation of a new national policy and an improved system to effectively handle disaster situations.
The proposed system aims to provide training in mitigating the effects of disasters, carrying out search and rescue operations, and providing relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation to affected areas.
India and US strengthen bilateral ties
India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, completed a three day official visit to the US, after engaging in what has been described as ‘state-to-state’ conversations with US President Barack Obama.
During his visit, Prime Minister Modi addressed Congress and formalised agreements with the US on climate change, renewable energy, security, and economic issues. His visit began with a special trip to Arlington National Cemetery, the military cemetery in Washington DC.
UN adopts declaration on ending AIDS
The UN General Assembly adopted the “Political Declaration on Ending AIDS” on 8 June 2018, at its High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS. Member states made a historic commitment to end AIDS by 2030.
The Political Declaration on Ending AIDS includes time-specific targets that must be reached by 2020 to end AIDS by 2030. Amendments to the declaration proposed by Russia were rejected.
US, Japan and India to hold joint naval exercise
The US, Japan and India will hold an 8-day joint naval exercise off a Japanese island chain, beginning Friday.
The exercise, named Malabar, will involve Japanese participation for the first time since 2007. Japan’s southwestern island chain has the highest US military presence in Asia.
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