Colombo: India assured Sri Lanka that it will continue to work very closely with the island nation on debt restructuring discussions and extend support for the economic recovery. Speaking at the ‘NAAM 200’ organised by the Government of Sri Lanka to commemorate the 200th anniversary of arrival of India-Origin Tamils (IOTs), finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India rendered an unprecedented financial assistance of over $4 billion last year when the island nation faced a financial crisis.
“When Sri Lanka faced its unprecedented economic crisis a year back, we felt it was our duty to stand by with our friends in Sri Lanka. We could not bear the difficulties our friends in Sri Lanka had to face. Our government and the people of India acted collectively and came to your assistance in record time,” she said.
Sitharaman also said that India was the first bilateral creditor to convey financing assurance to the International Monetary Fund that paved the way for others to provide similar assurances that formalised the IMF programme for Sri Lanka.
“As a true friend, India continues to work closely with the government of Lanka on debt restructuring discussions as well as on its path of economic recovery,” she said. Sitharaman said that “our leaders have released a vision document for economic partnership in July this year, outlining specific areas of cooperation for a sustainable economic development and prosperity for our people.”