India Assures Sri Lanka Of Continued Cooperation Amid Economic Crisis

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday called on Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and assured them of India's continued cooperation and understanding as the island nation was facing an unprecedented economic crisis.

Sri Lanka is facing an acute economic and energy crisis triggered due to the shortage of foreign exchange. India recently announced to extend a $1 billion line of credit to Sri Lanka as part of its financial assistance to the country to deal with the economic crisis.

Mr Jaishankar is here to hold bilateral talks with the country's top leadership and attend the seven-nation BIMSTEC summit.

In his talks with President Gotabaya, the minister reviewed various dimensions of our close neighbourly relationship.

"Pleased to call on President @GotabayaR of Sri Lanka. Reviewed various dimensions of our close neighbourly relationship. Assured him of India's continued cooperation and understanding," Jaishankar said on Twitter.

Mr Gotabaya expressed his gratitude to the government of India for the invaluable assistance provided via the line of credit.

"Met with Indian Foreign Minister @DrSJaishankar today, and I expressed my gratitude to the Government of #India for the invaluable assistance provided recently via the line of credit, on behalf of the people of #lka," the President said on Twitter.

During his meeting with Prime Minister Mahinda, Mr Jaishankar virtually inaugurated the Jaffna Cultural Centre constructed by India.

"Thank Prime Minister @PresRajapaksa for his gracious welcome. Our discussions were followed by some notable events: 1. Witnessed the signing of agreement on supporting Buddhist culture and heritage. 2. Virtually toured an ongoing camp in Jaffna on fitting 'Jaipur Foot'," he said in another tweet.

The Jaipur foot, also known as the Jaipur leg, is a rubber-based prosthetic leg for people with below-knee amputations. It was developed by Pandit Ram Chandra Sharma and orthopedic surgeon P K Sethi in 1968.

Mr Jaishankar also visited India's Information Technology services major HCL Technologies office here along with Cabinet Minister of Youth and Sports Namal Rajapaksa.

"Visited the @hcltech office development centre in Colombo. Great example of shared talent and global workplace. Appreciate @RajapaksaNamal for joining on this occasion," Mr Jaishankar said in another tweet.

HCL Technologies commenced operations in Sri Lanka in 2020 after it joined hands with the Board of Investment (BOI) of Sri Lanka in February 2020 to launch its local entity — HCL Technologies Lanka (Private) Limited and set up its first delivery centre in the region.

Earlier in the day, Mr Jaishankar met Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa and discussed with him the island nation's economic situation and India's support during its current foreign exchange crisis.

"Began the visit by meeting Finance Minister @RealBRajapaksa. Discussed the economic situation and India's supportive response. We will continue to be guided by Neighbourhood First," he said on Twitter.

Mr Jaishankar's visit to Colombo is taking place at a time when the public outrage over the Lankan government's inefficiency in handling the crisis has come out in the open.

This is his first visit to the island nation since India extended an economic relief package to bail Sri Lanka out of the current economic crisis.

Although Mr Jaishankar's Colombo visit is primarily for the BIMSTEC engagements, officials here said he would be taking part in all important bilateral talks with the Sri Lankan leaders.

Besides India and Sri Lanka, the BIMSTEC comprises Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.

The summit is being hosted by Sri Lanka in its capacity as the chair of the grouping BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the virtual summit of the BIMSTEC grouping on March 30, which is expected to focus on expanding economic engagement among its member countries.

Amidst the current foreign exchange crisis, people are holding protests and vigils urging immediate solutions to rid them of fuel and gas queues and enduring long hours of power cuts A sudden rise in prices of key commodities and fuel shortage forced tens of thousands of people to queue for hours outside petrol filling stations. People are also facing long hours of power cuts daily.

All essentials are in short supply due to import restrictions forced by the forex crisis.

India recently announced to extend a $1 billion line of credit to Sri Lanka as part of its financial assistance to the country to deal with the economic crisis.

New Delhi had extended a $500 million line of credit to Colombo in February to help it purchase petroleum products.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)