In a move that would help India and Sri Lanka get closer to each other, the former has allocated a grant of USD 15 million to the Island nation to bolster the long-standing Buddhist connections between the two countries, media reports said.
"This grant is specifically allocated to bolster the longstanding Buddhist connections between India and Sri Lanka, underscoring the deep historical and cultural ties that bind these two nations together," the official statement was quoted as saying by the reports.
Wickremesinghe and Sitaraman engaged in "lengthy bilateral discussions" during the bilateral agreement signing event, the statement said.
"This grant is specifically allocated to bolster the longstanding Buddhist connections between India and Sri Lanka, underscoring the deep historical and cultural ties that bind these two nations together," the official statement was quoted as saying by the reports.
Wickremesinghe and Sitaraman engaged in "lengthy bilateral discussions" during the bilateral agreement signing event, the statement said.
According to reports, the bilateral agreement on the grant was signed at Sri Lankan President's House in Colombo, the capital city of the country, in the presence of President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is on a three-day visit to the country.
The first project to be initiated under the Indian grant is the solar electrification of religious sites across Sri Lanka, with an allocation of USD 10 million, the reports quoted an official statement from the President's media division.