OPEC loans 40 mln USD to Sri Lanka for road development

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has signed a 40 million U.S. dollar loan agreement with Sri Lanka to develop roads, according to a posting of the government website Thursday. Director-General of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) Suleiman Jasir Al-Herbish and the Secretary to the Treasury Dr. P. B. Jayasundara signed the agreement in the presence of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, it said. Jasir Al-Herbish commended Sri Lanka's impressive progress especially with regard to three of the Millennium Development Goals -- education, children and health during his meeting with Minister of External Affairs G. L. Peiris. Peiris expressed appreciation for the substantial contribution already made by the OFID to the country through support for projects like the National Highways Sector Project and the Kalu Ganga Development Project. He also referred to excellent work done under OFID co-financed projects in Sri Lanka. A good example is provided by community projects co-financed by the government and the Asian Development Bank, it added. Jasir Al-Herbish also briefed Peiris on innovative work being done by his organization in the field of energy. The aim of these initiatives, he explained, is to bring energy within the reach of the less advantaged, to facilitate their social advancement.