Sri Lanka notifies Indian rupee as designated currency
Wickremesinghe is on a two-day visit to India. He is the first Sri Lankan leader to visit India since the island nation was hit by an unprecedented economic crisis last year.
Making INR a designated foreign currency enables bilateral trade settlement in INR and allows Indian tourists visiting Sri Lanka can use INR for transactions.
The utilisation will depend on India's private sector and trade sector stakeholders, Bagchi said.
"Sri Lanka is an important partner in India's Neighbourhood First Policy and Vision SAGAR. The visit will reinforce the longstanding friendship between the two countries and explore avenues for enhanced connectivity and mutually beneficial cooperation across sectors," an MEA press release said
India offered aid worth almost $4 billion to Sri Lanka last year.
Sri Lanka will focus on grid connectivity between the two countries, port development and renewable energy projects, largely in the northern part, when President Wickremesinghe visits India, its foreign minister Mohamed Uvais Mohamed Ali Sabry had said early this month.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)