India and Sri Lanka have signed an MOU to supply 150 boats and fishing equipment to the fishermen of Mullaitivu. Indian High Commissioner Y.K. Sinha and Secretary, Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development W.M.M.R. Adikari signed the MoU in the presence of Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Mahinda Amaraweera at the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development.

• The Government of India will gift 150 boats and other fishing equipment to 300 beneficiaries in Mullaitivu.
• The project will be implemented in consultation with the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development and relevant local authorities. The total cost of this project is Rs. 100 million.
• The Indian High Commission said that it would float a tender to procure the items through a competitive bidding process.

Did You Know?

• Sri Lanka is known as both the ‘pearl of the Indian Ocean’ and the ‘teardrop of India’ due to its shape.
• Under European control for some 450 years, Ceylon won independence from the United Kingdom in 1948 and changed its name in 1972.
• Sinhalese form the country’s major ethnic group (74 percent) and Tamils are the largest minority, at 18 percent.
• The Tamil minority tends to be geographically concentrated along the eastern and northern coastal areas.
• Industry: Rubber processing, tea, coconuts, other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement
• Exports: Textiles and apparel, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products.