COLOMBO, July 27 (Xinhua) -- A delegation from the U.S. government has pledged 7.4 million U.S. dollars in funding for Sri Lanka that aims to reduce poverty and promote economic opportunity for Sri Lankans, the U.S. Embassy in Colombo said on Thursday.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) delegation led by Fatema Z. Sumar, regional deputy vice president for Europe, Asia, the Pacific and Latin America, visited Colombo to advance progress on the development of the MCC compact with the Sri Lankan government.
"We are pleased to announce LKR 1.1 billion (7.4 million U.S. dollars) in funding that the MCC is providing now to support the development of a compact, including identifying and analyzing specific projects for potential investment," Sumar said.
Based on an analysis of the constraints to economic growth, MCC and the Sri Lankan government are now conducting due diligence on potential projects in the transport and land sectors.
In December 2016, MCC's Board of Directors selected Sri Lanka to develop a compact. Sri Lanka became eligible for assistance after passing 13 out of 20 indicators on MCC's policy scorecard.
Sri Lanka will need to be re-selected by MCC's Board in December for compact development to continue.
