"At the national level, CORE will focus on promoting business-friendly policies that will enable enterprises in the target geographic areas to grow, generate jobs and develop local economies." .
The Connecting Regional Economies (CORE) programme is part of American efforts to address the root causes of conflict in the island,a US embassy statement said.
It is designed to increase social and economic security in the east, it said.
"By addressing the disparity in economic development between eastern Sri Lanka and the more prosperous Western Province, CORE aims to establish conditions whereby sustained economic development can be launched," it said.
The programme by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will focus on improving the supply chain and access to markets of producers in five districts of the Eastern, North-Central and Uva Provinces.
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