No conditions on aid given to SL: India

15 April 2013 11:59 am - 5 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A A A

Asserting that it attaches no ‘conditionalities’ to assistance to countries including Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives and Bangladesh, India on Monday said it also does not "challenge national sovereignty" of these nations and noted such aids were demand driven and mutually beneficial.

It also cautioned against developed countries stopping ODA (Official Development Assistance) to their developing counterparts as suggested by the recent communique of the UN Secretary General on the post-2015 development agenda.

"Our engagement is demand driven and response to the developmental priorities of our partner countries. We do not attach conditionalities, we do not prescribe policies and we do not challenge national sovereignty. We promote mutually beneficial exchange of development, experiences and resources," Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said here.

He was addressing a conference here on 'South-South Cooperation: Issues and emerging challenges'.

The Foreign Secretary said, "we should reinforce the argument that while South-South cooperation and the voluntary efforts of developing countries such as India will continue to play an important role, it would be a travesty to project them as the principle new component of a redefined global partnership of the new agenda."

He cautioned against replacing North-South cooperation with South-South cooperation.

Observing that North-South engagement leads the aid process and should continue to do so, Mathai said it is self- evident that while South-South cooperation supplements North- South cooperation, the former bloc is not yet in a position to replace the latter in any significant measure.

The fact that the traditional donor community often underplays the distinctions between our forms of assistance does not diminish its validity, he said.

"It is surprising that even as crucial importance of the ODA for many developing countries have been reiterated at many high-level fora, this document (communique of the UN Secretary General's high level panel on the post 2015 development agenda) does not contain single mention of ODA," he said.

"We need to register a note of caution...That recommendations of the panel are to make a meaningful contribution to evolving a new developmental agenda that should reflect in equal measure the concerns of both the developing and developed world," Mathai said.

The communique was issued on March 27 by a high-level panel tasked with advising the UN Secretary-General on the global development agenda beyond 2015.

"Over the years, we have considerably expanded our development cooperation portfolio through grant assistance in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Myanmar and Sri Lanka for projects in infrastructure, hydroelectricity, power transmission and other sectors identified by the host governments as priority areas for their development," he said.

Dwelling on India's Technical and Economic Assistance programme ITEC, he said nearly 9,000 civilians from 161 countries attended various training courses conducted by 47 Indian institutions last year.

India offers 2,300 scholarships annually for degree courses in Indian universities, the Foreign Secretary said.

In addition, special courses are conducted at the request of countries or regions on specialised subjects such as election management, WTO studies, parliamentary practices and public-private partnerships, he said.

At the India-Africa Forum Summits in 2008 and 2011, India made a commitment to establish about 100 institutions in various African countries to strengthen capacities at the pan-African, regional and bilateral levels.

Indian experts are deputed abroad to share expertise in areas like IT, auditing, pharmacology, public administration and textiles research, he said. In their structure and diversity, these programmes do not have many parallels in traditional North-South cooperation.

On various aid-related programmes, he said through India's concessional Lines of Credit, over 150 Lines of Credit totalling over USD 9.5 billion have been allocated to finance a wide range of projects from drinking water schemes to power plants in Africa and elsewhere over the last decade or so.(PTI)

Order Gifts and Flowers to Sri Lanka. See Kapruka's top selling online shopping categories such as Toys, Grocery, Kids Toys, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Clothing and Electronics. Also see Kapruka's unique online services such as Money Remittence,Astrology, Courier/Delivery, Medicine Delivery and over 700 top brands. Also get products from Amazon & Ebay via Kapruka Gloabal Shop into Sri Lanka

Comments - 5

Nodrog Monday, 15 April 2013 01:17 PM

Ha ha....seems the attention from China is waking our bullying big brother India.

Rajiv Monday, 15 April 2013 01:22 PM

What a way to get a country, you create the problem, then you say you r helping them when others r not. You r very shroud guys. Never Trust an Indian in Danger.

siva Tuesday, 16 April 2013 12:00 AM

Can someone explain as to why we are getting from India when our per capita is better than theirs!!!!!

Andrew Pitugala Tuesday, 16 April 2013 02:21 AM

Thank you for your good will.
We will reciprocare with our good will.

janak Tuesday, 16 April 2013 05:22 AM

We get AID from INDIA??? A country where 1/2 BILLION people have no toilets and defecate in the open???? R u serious????

Add comment
Comments will be edited (grammar, spelling and slang) and authorized at the discretion of Daily Mirror online. The website also has the right not to publish selected comments.

No conditions on aid given to SL: India

Comments - 5

Add comment

RECOMMENDED

UDA owned land in Thalawathugoda; UDA Minister Prasanna Ranatunga under the spotlight for forceful occupation of reserved land

Loss-making SMIB faces political pressure in recovering loans

Baltimore Bridge Collapse: MV Dali, SL authorities anchored in mystery?

Has Sri Lanka become a potential hub for the illegal wildlife trade?

Spotlight on Moragahakanda Development Project Moragolla villagers lose livelihoods and down to one meal a day

Ambitious Sri Lankan jobseekers ‘trafficked into Ukraine war zones’

Western purple-faced langurs see blue!

Most Viewed in News

Confusion remains if April 15 is a bank holiday

Belgian traveller scammed in Kalutara

Street food vendor arrested for verbally harassing foreigner

Former MP Palitha Thewarapperuma dies from electrocution

April 15 declared a government holiday

SL on alert on possible genocide allegations by Canada

MIRROR CRICKET

How does CSK get best out of Pathirana?

Mendis, Mathews move up in ICC Test Rankings

Chamodi, Dewmi spins Sri Lanka U19 Women to big win

Amir, Wasim return to Pakistan national team

TODAY'S HEADLINES

100 Police personnel trained to target criminals operating on motorbikes

Catholic Church receives full report

Complaint lodged over Piumi Hansamali’s possession of Gota’s Range Rover

We are struggling with severe shortage of staff – Excise Chief

Mendis, Mathews move up in ICC Test Rankings

Security raised for Champions League ties after threat

SLA target four events at Paris Olympic Games

Chamodi, Dewmi spins Sri Lanka U19 Women to big win