Will continue to help Sri Lanka overcome crisis, assures India

Will continue to help Sri Lanka overcome crisis, assures India

Colombo: India has reiterated its willingness to play a constructive role in supporting Sri Lanka’s efforts for recovery from the worst economic crisis. Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Construction, Power and Energy Expo-2023 in Colombo on Friday, India’s Deputy High Commissioner Vinod K Jacob said the recent developments in India-Sri Lanka ties had strengthened the friendship and all-around cooperation between the two countries.

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe will visit India on July 21 during which he is expected to meet PM Narendra Modi.

Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra is set to leave for the island nation next week to work out the arrangements for the visit.

The Sri Lankan navy has arrested 15 Indian fishermen on board two trawlers for allegedly poaching in the country’s territorial waters.

They were taken to the Kankesanthurai Harbour and handed over to fisheries officials for onward legal proceedings.

“We were the first creditor nation in January this year to convey the financing assurances needed to kickstart the IMF process. India will continue to play a constructive role as a Co-Chair of the Creditors’ Committee along with Japan and the Paris Club,” he said.

In May this year, 17 countries that have extended loans to Sri Lanka formed an Creditors’ Committee co-chaired by India, Japan and France to discuss Sri Lanka’s request for debt treatment.

Paris Club is a group of officials from major creditor countries whose role is to find coordinated and sustainable solutions to the payment difficulties experienced by debtor countries.

Jacob said India’s financial and humanitarian support worth USD 4 billion to Sri Lanka is far in excess of the total anticipated Extended Fund Facility of the IMF.

Sri Lanka was hit by a catastrophic financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe is set to embark on a two-day visit to India on July 21 during which he is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, officials here said.

This will be Wickremesinghe’s first visit to India since his appointment as President of the cash-strapped country last year following the ouster of Gotabaya Rajapaksa in a people’s uprising in July. Wickremesinghe was appointed President for the balance term of Rajapaksa till September 2024.

India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra will arrive in Sri Lanka early next week to work out the arrangements for Wickremesinghe’s visit to New Delhi.

Officials said Wickremesinghe will finalise the implementation of several projects related to power and energy, agriculture and maritime issues in the island nation ahead of his departure for New Delhi. Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda among others will accompany the President.