21st Maritime Silk Route has synergies with Sri Lanka govt policies

China's 21st Century Maritime Silk Route (MSR) policy has strong resonance with the Sri Lankan government's economic plans with clear synergies, an official said in the capital city of Sri Lanka on Friday.

China's MSR has strong connections to the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's economic policy framework that outlines aims to establish a maritime, commercial, knowledge and energy hub, Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Ajith Nivaard Cabraal told a gathering.

The government's policy makers have long insisted it was possible to use the island's strategic location in linking Europe and Africa with Asia. Cabraal pointed out that even though the government's policies pre-dated MSR, the benefits to both could be significant.

"Strengthening economic cooperation, joint-infrastructure projects, security cooperation, technical and scientific cooperation as well as greater maritime economic engagement will happen. Already Sri Lanka has two international ports and two international airports that can link to MSR," he noted.

Cabraal went on to say Singapore with one international airport and one mega port has reaped massive economic gains and Sri Lanka stands to double that, given its massive infrastructure developments.

The Colombo port and the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka's Deep South already focus on transshipment and relay-shipping. Energy projects are already underway through a 1.2 billion US dollar coal power plant in the north-western part of the country while another is in the pipeline.

As island nations in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives and Sri Lanka are both crucial to the initiative and also stand to reap benefits from being situated as stops on a larger maritime trade route.

Accordingly, leaders from both countries were enthusiastic about joining the project. Sri Lanka also received 1.4 billion US dollars from China to build the "Colombo Port City," part of a bid to mold the island country into a rival to thriving ports in Singapore and Dubai.

Cabraal believes MSR will pave the way for a knowledge hub in Sri Lanka that can focus on maritime law, research and development, fisheries training and training in oil and gas exploration.

Insurance and banking industries, in particular, will get a boost, with the Central Bank already singing a currency swap agreement with People's Bank of China.

The Sri Lankan government's budget for 2015, which is currently being debated in parliament also outlines policies to improve skill development, tourism and infrastructure that will tie into MSR, Cabraal assured.

MSR will also be facilitated by the successful launch of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in which Sri Lanka along with 20 other countries joined.

Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month called for accelerating efforts to construct Silk Road Economic Belt, saying that the two are complementary.