Minister Semasinghe paints glowing picture emanating from WB budgetary support 

State Minister of Finance, Shehan Semasinghe, on Tuesday, said the country had received 250 million US dollars from the World Bank as budgetary support.

Speaking to journalists in Colombo, he said that the World Bank, on 28 June, approved 700 million dollars in financing as budgetary and welfare support for Sri Lanka.

Out of that amount, 500 million dollars were allocated for the ‘Sri Lanka Resilience, Stability, and Economic Turnaround (RESET) Development Policy Operation’, he said.

Semasinghe said RESET would support reforms that improve economic governance, enhance growth and competitiveness, and protect the poor and vulnerable.

RESET would provide budgetary support in two equal tranches against agreed-upon prior actions, he said.

“The 250 million US dollars is the first tranche.

The remaining 200 million dollars are earmarked for the ‘Social Protection Project,” which seeks to support Sri Lanka in providing better-targeted income and livelihood opportunities to the poor and vulnerable and improving the responsiveness of the social protection programme.”

Semasinghe said the WB assistance would help the country implement foundational reforms to restore macroeconomic stability and sustainability, mitigate the impact of current and future shocks on the poor and vulnerable, and support an inclusive and private sector-led recovery and growth path.