ADB approves 100 mln USD package to support Sri Lanka's post-crisis reforms

Alsharq Tribune-Otaify 

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a 100 million U.S. dollars financing package to build on Sri Lanka's progress toward macroeconomic stability and to help achieve sustainable growth following the economic crisis, the ADB said in a statement on Monday.

Sri Lanka has made commendable progress in restoring fiscal and debt sustainability following an unprecedented economic crisis, ADB Country Director for Sri Lanka Takafumi Kadono said.

He added that this program also aims to improve the credibility and execution of public expenditure, enhance domestic revenue mobilization, and foster a more predictable and transparent investment climate.

This program will help improve efficiency and transparency in public expenditure management and enhance revenue mobilization, said ADB. In the meantime, it will support the government's efforts to improve the enabling environment for private sector participation, and will also focus on strengthening the management, transparency, and accountability of state-owned enterprises (SOE), ADB said.

Several first-time initiatives in Sri Lanka will be supported, including a draft law on public-private partnerships, a comprehensive Fiscal Risk Statement, and a climate finance strategy, the statement said.

It also addresses gender gaps through Sustainable Development Goals budget tagging, a new gender sensitive Nationally Determined Contribution, and public procurement reforms to enhance its development impact and inclusivity.

These innovations, together with newly established institutional mechanisms, such as the SOE credit risk framework and specialized monitoring units, will lay the foundation for sustained impact, the ADB said.