S Jaishankar met his Sri Lankan counterpart Ali Sabri
Colombo:
Sri Lanka on Friday thanked India for its generous support of a USD 3.9 billion credit line last year and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar called for increasing investment flows to the debt-ridden nation after assurances given to the IMF to restructure the country’s debt. Conveyed India’s commitment to Economic recovery of the island nation.
Mr Jaishankar, who is here on a two-day visit, on Thursday met Sri Lanka’s top leadership, including his Sri Lankan counterpart Ali Sabri and President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
“It was a privilege to welcome my friend Hon Dr S Jaishankar, EAM of India in Colombo. I would like to thank him for his generous support of the USD 3.9B credit line last year and the assurance given to the IMF for debt restructuring Sri Lanka is a privilege to have caring and considerate friends!” Mr Sabri tweeted on Friday.
“Delighted to meet Hon’ble Dr. S. Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India in Colombo. Discussed strengthening bilateral ties, people-to-people contacts, trade and investment ties between our nations and appreciated India’s steadfast assistance to Sri Lanka Of, he tweeted on Thursday.
Jaishankar, who arrived here from Maldives on the second leg of his two-nation tour, met Sabri and discussed issues of mutual and regional interest.
“Had a good meeting with Foreign Minister Ali Sabri and other ministerial colleagues in Colombo this evening. Discussed India-Sri Lanka cooperation in infrastructure, connectivity, energy, industry and health,” Jaishankar tweeted.
President Wickremesinghe hosted a dinner for the minister.
After speaking with Sabri, Jaishankar tweeted, “Looking forward to my discussion with the leadership tomorrow morning.” ,
Sri Lanka, which is trying to secure a USD 2.9 billion bridge loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was in talks to obtain financial assurances from its major creditors – China, Japan and India – that would allow Colombo Required to get bailout. package.
The IMF bailout has been put on hold as Sri Lanka continues to negotiate with creditors to meet the global lender’s condition for the facility.
“Conveyed our commitment to increase investment flows to accelerate economic recovery in Sri Lanka,” Mr Jaishankar tweeted after their meetings.
Mr. Jaishankar will call on President Wickremesinghe on Friday.
Shri Jaishankar is also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardene.
Sri Lanka’s unprecedented economic crisis brought out the best of India’s concerns for its southern neighbor given the island nation’s closeness in economic cooperation with China until then.
When the crisis started to bite a year ago, India came forward with USD 4 billion in aid.
On Tuesday, President Wickremesinghe told parliament that his government had “successfully” concluded its debt restructuring talks with India.
India’s Finance Ministry’s Additional Secretary Rajat Kumar Mishra on Tuesday informed IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva that New Delhi has reaffirmed its support to Sri Lanka on the issue of debt restructuring.
Last week, Sri Lanka concluded its debt restructuring talks with Japan.
Sri Lanka began debt restructuring talks with its creditors in September last year, as warranted by its agreement with the IMF for a USD 2.9 billion facility over four years.
It started talks with the IMF for a bail-out after announcing the sovereign debt default for the first time in April last year.
The IMF facility will enable the island nation to access bridging finance from the markets and other lending institutions such as the ADB and the World Bank.
Incidentally Mr Jaishankar became the first foreign dignitary to visit Sri Lanka during the economic crisis. His visit in March last year at the height of the crisis reassured Sri Lankans that India’s ‘neighbourhood first’ policy was largely in play.
“Sri Lanka is a close friend and neighbour, and India stands with the people of Sri Lanka at all times,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Shri Jaishankar’s visit to Colombo is a testimony to the importance India attaches to its close and friendly relations with Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka will be hit by an unprecedented financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, fueled by a severe shortage of foreign exchange reserves, sparking political turmoil in the country that has led to the all-powerful Rajapaksa family Was expelled.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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