Colombo: Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe will embark on a two-day official visit to India on Thursday for talks with the country's top leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to further advance and consolidate the bilateral relations. This will be Wickremesinghe's first visit to India after being appointed President of the cash-strapped country last year following the ouster of Gotabaya Rajapaksa in a people's uprising in July.
President Wickremesinghe is undertaking the official visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sri Lanka's foreign ministry said in a statement this week. The visit takes place as both countries celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year.
During the visit, President Wickremesinghe would meet his counterpart Droupadi Murmu and hold bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishanakar and other Indian dignitaries on a range of issues of mutual interest. "The visit will further advance and consolidate the long-standing bilateral relations," Sri Lanka's foreign ministry said.
In a statement in New Delhi, the External Affairs Ministry said that Sri Lanka is an important partner in India's Neighbourhood First Policy and Vision SAGAR. "The visit will reinforce the longstanding friendship between the two countries and explore avenues for enhanced connectivity and mutually beneficial cooperation across sectors," the statement said.
Wickremesinghe has emphasised good relations with India and made it a major plank of his foreign policy. Last week, President Wickremesinghe, also the country's finance minister, said that Sri Lanka would want to see the Indian rupee used as much as the US dollar. The visit comes as Sri Lanka's weak economy shows signs of improvement.
Sri Lanka was hit by an unprecedented financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves. India offered Sri Lanka an economic lifeline with dedicated credit lines for fuel and essential items. In 2022, India provided about USD 4 billion in assistance to Colombo to tide over its dire economic situation.
The island nation, which declared its first-ever credit default in mid-April last year, secured a bailout of USD 2.9 billion from the IMF in March this year, spanning over 4 years subject to reforms being put in place. (PTI)
