High Commission of Sri Lanka in India

Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda met with the Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal yesterday (20/4) at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi, to follow up on the key areas that were discussed during their last meeting in February.

The key areas discussed in February included mechanisms relating to the expansion of bilateral trade, the ways to establish and promote rupee trade between Sri Lanka and India as a means of economic recovery in Sri Lanka, and the possibility of further bilateral integration in the textiles and garment sector. 

At the meeting, the progress made so far in these key areas was reviewed by the Indian Commerce Minister and the Sri Lankan High Commissioner. Special attention was given to the area of trade expansion as a means of economic recovery of Sri Lanka, and the way forward in this regard was discussed in detail. In this context, High Commissioner Moragoda reiterated the key role that India, with its projected growth rate of 6.7% for 2024, could play in Sri Lanka’s economic recovery. 

A Chartered Accountant by profession, Shri Piyush Goyal also holds the Ministerial portfolios of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution as well as Textiles. He is the Leader of the House of the Rajya Sabha, the upper House of the Indian Parliament. He has also held the Ministerial portfolios of Railways, Finance, Corporate Affairs, Coal, Power, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, previously.

Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda today (5) addressed the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India (EAC-PM) at the invitation of its Chairman Dr. Bibek Debroy. The talk was held at the Council’s office in NITI Bhavan in New Delhi.  

The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) is an independent body constituted to give advice on economic and related issues to the Government of India, specifically to the Prime Minister.

High Commissioner Moragoda’s address to the Council dealt with key areas pertaining to Indo-Lanka relations, particularly, bilateral economic integration and cooperation. The High Commissioner stressed the importance of economic integration between Sri Lanka and India, and requested the Council to assist in that process by way of policy guidance. 

High Commissioner Moragoda premised his address on the policy roadmap, the “Integrated Country Strategy for Sri Lanka Diplomatic Missions in India- 2021/2023”, and answered the questions posed by the members of the Council following the talk.

At present, the membership of the EAC-PM consists of its Chairman Dr. Bibek Debroy and Members Shri Sanjeev Sanyal and Dr. Shamika Ravi. Shri Rakesh Mohan, Dr. Sajjid Chinoy, Dr. Neelkanth Mishra, Shri Nilesh Shah, Prof. T. T. Ram Mohan and Dr. Poonam Gupta serve as Council’s part-time members.

The Terms of Reference of EAC-PM include analysing any issue, economic or otherwise, referred to it by the Prime Minister and advising him thereon, and addressing issues of macroeconomic importance and presenting views thereon to the Prime Minister. These could be either suo-motu or on reference from the Prime Minister. The Council attends to any other task as may be desired by the Prime Minister from time to time.