Sri Lanka will enter into an agreement with the World Bank today (27) for budgetary support, after the approval of the Cabinet.
Reuters reported that at the World Bank board meeting tomorrow (28), the World Bank is likely to approve $700 million in budget and welfare assistance for Sri Lanka, of which $200 million will be for welfare programmes.
The government said today (27) that the $700 million aid from the World Bank will be received in two tranches.
Accordingly, it is reported that 500 million dollars will be received as budget support and 200 million dollars for welfare programmes.
This is the biggest financial support that the country has received since the comprehensive credit facility of $2.9 million agreed to be given to Sri Lanka by the International Monetary Fund last March.
Facing a severe economic crisis, Sri Lanka showed a record economic contraction of 7.8% last year.
The economy is expected to contract by 2% this year before returning to growth next year.
