The Cabinet has approved signing a complementary adjustment agreement with Brazil to implement a sugarcane project, Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said.
The agreement is required by the structure of the two countries’ existing relationship rather than being a standalone treaty. Sri Lanka and Brazil signed a basic agreement on technical cooperation on 16 September 2008, and individual programmes under it have to be implemented through separate coordination agreements, EconomyNext reported.
“According to the basic agreement on technical cooperation signed between Sri Lanka and Brazil, it is required that the programs and projects under it are implemented through complementary coordination agreements,” Jayatissa said.
Who is involved
Four institutions are party to the arrangement:
- The Brazilian Cooperation Agency
- São Carlos Federal University
- Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development
- The Sugarcane Research Institute
The pairing of a Brazilian federal university with Sri Lanka’s Sugarcane Research Institute points to a research and technical-transfer project rather than a commercial investment, though EconomyNext did not describe the project’s content.
What is not reported
EconomyNext did not say what the sugarcane project actually involves, what it will cost, who funds it, how long it runs, or where in Sri Lanka it will operate. Nor did it say when the agreement will be signed, or whether the project targets cane yields, sugar processing, ethanol, or by-products.
It was the only verified newsroom carrying the decision at the time of writing.
Context
Brazil is the world’s largest sugarcane producer and the origin of most of the industry’s varietal and ethanol technology, which makes it the obvious technical partner for a sector Sri Lanka has repeatedly tried and failed to expand.
The domestic industry is in poor condition. Sri Lanka imports the large majority of the sugar it consumes, and the state-owned sector has been contracting: the Sevanagala sugar factory halted production in late August and granted staff leave, keeping only 12 sections running as essential services. A research agreement signed under a framework dating from 2008 does not directly address that, and neither the minister nor EconomyNext connected the two.
