On Monday, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa expressed his gratitude to India for extending financial assistance of $1 billion of credit to deal with its economic crisis.
On Monday, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to hold bilateral talks with Sri Lanka’s top leadership. He is also scheduled to attend the seven-nation Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit.
On a three-day visit, S Jaishankar will examine the possibilities of enhancing bilateral ties with one of India’s key maritime neighbours. Sri Lankan Presidents’ office said that S Jaishankar is in Sri Lanka to attend the 5th BIMSTEC Summit that began on Monday in Colombo.
The statement read, “Expressing pleasure over the visit of Dr Jaishankar, the President thanked India for providing a Credit Line of USD 1 billion for the importation of essential commodities including food and medicine”.
The statement further read that Sri Lanka and India have commemorated their 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year with a number of commemorative events, including the issuance of commemorative coins and stamps.
The visit comes at a time when the island nation is facing its all-time worst foreign exchange crisis post-pandemic hit earnings from tourism and remittances.
