Sri Lanka Explores Accepting Indian Rupee For Local Transactions

Sri Lanka is considering the acceptance of the Indian rupee for local transactions within its borders like dollar, euro and yen, PTI reported.

The media was being briefed by Sabry about President Ranil Wickremesinghe's first trip to India since taking office last year, which would take place on July 20-21. On Friday, he spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"We have considered the possibility of using the Indian rupees like we accept the dollar, euro and yen," he said.

The necessity for several currency conversions for Indian tourists and businessmen would be eliminated if its direct use were permitted.

The two nations agreed to operationalize the Unified Payments Interface-based digital payments for further enhancing trade and transactions between businesses and regular people on Friday. The two nations noted that the decision to designate the Indian Rupee (INR) as the currency for trade settlements between the two nations has forged stronger and mutually beneficial commercial links.

The Network to Network Agreement between NIPL and Lanka Pay for UPI application acceptance in Sri Lanka was ratified by the two nations following bilateral discussions between Modi and Wickremesinghe.

Sabry noticed no opposition from China to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) inked with India regarding the development of Trincomalee as a regional centre for business, energy, and bilateral cooperation.

"We are a non-aligned state, we have only signed an MoU to identify feasible projects through a joint committee. I don't think any country would object to such open and transparent dealings," Sabry said.

The significance of port connectivity between the two nations, according to Sabry, was acknowledged by both leaders.

"To reach the next level, we need investments. We discussed ways which would be mutually beneficial to both countries. The tie-ups between not only the two governments but between the private sector were emphasised," Sabry said.

He claimed that it was about whether Sri Lanka might gain from the enormous economic growth in the South Indian region.

"The two leaders agreed for connectivity between the ports for this purpose", Sabry said.

The two presidents concurred on the necessity of port connectivity between Colombo, Trincomalee, and the South Indian region.

The essential investigations on whether to construct a bridge for improved land connectivity or keep using the current ferry services, he said, would shortly be started.

It was also considered how to bring an Indian university on board to aid in Sri Lanka's digitalization, he continued.