Sri Lanka will receive $180 million in loans from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to support its Covid-19 emergency response and relief measures, reported Daily Mirror. 

Sri Lanka Ambassador to China Palitha Kohona met the AIIB president earlier this month to discuss the loan and funding issue. The approval for the loan came on Friday.

Sri Lankan officials thanked the AIIB for extending the funding to bolster the country’s Covid19 crisis recovery which will mainly focus on Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs). 

Officials also briefed the AIIB on Sri Lanka’s response to the crisis. 

AIIB officials also asked Sri Lanka to consider seeking funding for its renewable energy, electric public transport systems, light rail transport, electric vehicles, digital technology, shipbuilding, water supply, and manufacturing from the lender. 

 D J Pandian, the vice president of the AIIB, assured Sri Lanka that the lender will support these projects in the country. The Sri Lankan ambassador assured they would encourage the country’s private sectors to seek funding from the AIIB.