COLOMBO: The India-assisted emergency ambulance service in Sri Lanka would be further expanded in seven more provinces, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has proposed to the Cabinet.
India launched the emergency ambulance service in July 2016 for western and southern provinces of Sri Lanka through an outright grant of USD 7.6 million to uplift and improve medical facilities in the island.
"This service which is conducted in the western and southern province is to be expended to other 7 provinces," the government said in a statement today.
The present agreement between the Indian entity, GVK EMRI Lanka Pvt Ltd and the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine is to be extended.
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Sri Lanka in March 2015, he had received a request for assistance for the setting of the emergency ambulance service in the country.
After the visit, Wickremesinghe wrote to Modi for support for setting up of an emergency ambulance service and its operations for the first year. Modi had assured full support. The decision was formalised in September 2015 during the visit of Wickremesinghe to India.
India's development portfolio in Sri Lanka is nearly USD 2.6 billion, out of which USD 436 million is pure grants.