Sri Lanka will receive US $ 50 to 100 million as financial assistance from US-based Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) next year, a statement from the country’s Finance Ministry said. The statement said Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake held discussions with US Ambassador Atul Keshap and MCC Managing Director James E. Gerard yesterday at his ministry about the sectors the assistance might be extended to.

Sri Lanka was selected as an eligible country for assistance from the fiscal year 2016 by the MCC in December last year. Created by the U.S. Congress in 2004 with strong bipartisan support, the MCC is an innovative U.S. foreign assistance agency that operates on the principle of delivering assistance on the basis of a long-term consultative p a r t n e r s h i p w i t h individual countries.

The criteria for consideration in entering a partnership include a country’s commitment to good governance, economic freedom and investment in citizens.