An agreement was signed by the Government of Sri Lanka with the Government of Germany today to obtain a technical assistance grant of Euro 11 million to implement the following three projects.

1. Vocational Training in Sri Lanka – Euro 7 million

This Project aims at providing demand-oriented cooperative vocational training for young people.

2. Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) Sector Development in Sri Lanka – Euro 3.5 million

This program aims at removing major obstacles to the global competitiveness of Sri Lankan SMEs

3. Study and Expert Fund– Euro 0.5 million

This fund is utilized to finance preparation of new projects, to fund small-scale projects and for financing German experts

The above projects will be implemented by GIZ of the German Government.

The Government of Germany has been assisting the Sri Lankan Government’s efforts to develop the vocational training sector and SME sector by providing technical and grant aid cooperation through various interventions.

The signing of the agreement pertaining to the above grant took place today at the Ministry of Finance, Economy and Policy Development. Mr. S.R. Attygalle, Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Economy and Policy Development signed the agreement on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka while Mr. Jorn Rohde H.E. the Ambassador for Germany in Sri Lanka signed on behalf of the Government of Germany. Mr. Ajith Abeysekare, Director General of External Resources Department and Ms. Christiane Einfeldt, Country Director of GIZ for Sri Lanka and Maldives also participated in this occasion