Sri Lanka notifies Indian rupee as designated currency

21 Jul '23

2 min read

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Sri Lanka has notified the Indian rupee (INR) as a designated currency, India's external affairs ministry announced yesterday ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe today in New Delhi for talks.
The decision enables bilateral trade settlement in INR and allows Indian tourists visiting Sri Lanka to use INR.

Sri Lanka has notified the Indian rupee (₹ or INR) as a designated currency, Indian external affairs ministry (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi announced yesterday. The announcement came ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe today for talks.

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.

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