The Board of Directors of the United States Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) reselected Sri Lanka for its grant programme at its meeting on December 19. This will enable MCC to continue developing its compact programme with the government of Sri Lanka for which Sri Lanka was selected a year ago, in December 2016.

JOINT STATEMENT

BETWEEN MALAYSIA AND THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA ON THE OCCASION OF THE OFFICIAL VISIT OF HONORABLE DATO’ SRI MOHD NAJIB TUN ABDUL RAZAK, PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA

TO SRI LANKA

17-19 DECEMBER 2017

Hon. Chairman,

I am delighted to begin my speech with the good news that today we received US$ 292 million as the first tranche of the Hambantota Port PPP joint venture. This is but the first step in realizing the true commercial value of the Port after 7 long years.

The joint venture PPP partnership with China Merchant Port Holdings (CMPH), a member of China Merchant Group which owns a network of 49 ports across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Mediterranean, will enable Hambantota Port to benefit from the broader trade and shipping network that CMPH will provide access to.

At the invitation of President Maithripala Sirisena, the Prime Minister of Malaysia Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak will undertake an official visit to Sri Lanka from 17-19 December 2017. The visit is of special significance in the context of the growing bilateral partnership between the two countries, and in the backdrop of Sri Lanka and Malaysia celebrating the 60^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.