Sri Lanka says no decision to seek MCC grant

Sri Lanka says no decision has been taken to seek a grant from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe told Parliament today that the former Government led by then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had decided not to go ahead with the agreement with the US.

However, he said that a new Government has the right to decide what steps it will take.

The Minister said that, so far, the current administration has not had talks on the MCC grant.

In December 2020, the Millennium Challenge Corporation board decided to discontinue the proposed Rs. 89 billion MCC development assistance grant to Sri Lanka due to lack of partner country engagement.

The Rs. 89 billion approved for Sri Lanka was made available to other eligible partner countries in need of grant funding to pursue their economic development priorities, reduce poverty, and grow their economies.

Country ownership, transparency, and accountability for grant results are fundamental to MCC?s development model.

MCC has successfully partnered with nearly 30 countries worldwide on 38 grant agreements, totaling nearly $13.5 billion. These grants have lifted millions of people from poverty by catalyzing local and domestic investment. (Colombo Gazette)