Sri Lanka: PM Dinesh Gunawardena Calls India As ‘Biggest Friend’ In Times Of Crisis

Sri Lanka: Taking notes from Indo-Sri Lankan relations, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena has said that India is the biggest friend of the island nation in times of crisis.

Last year, Sri Lanka was declared bankrupt and defaulted on its $51 billion foreign loans for the first time since its independence from Britain in 1948. During the economic crisis, India has played a significant role in aiding the island nation over the last year to tide over the economic crisis.

PM Gunawardena calls India “the biggest friend of Sri Lanka”

While addressing the Tata Tiscon Dealer Convention 2023 in Colombo, PM Gunawardena called on Indian companies to invest further in Sri Lanka.

Moreover, he said that India is the biggest friend of Sri Lanka in times of crisis, the Colombo Gazette portal reported. Outlining the benefits of Indian investments in Sri Lanka, PM Gunawardena highlighted that 90 per cent of components used by Lanka Ashok Leyland were indigenous, it said.

High Commissioner’s stance on India’s relation

Speaking at the event, High Commissioner Gopal Baglay said that both Government of India and Indian corporates are working to build relationships that are beneficial to the people within and beyond India, especially the neighbours, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Neighbourhood First Policy. He has said that the driving force behind this spirit of engagement was the community-centred business practices and the philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family).

While referring to India and Sri Lanka as ‘civilisational twins’, the High Commissioner noted that both Governments are promoting people-to-people and business-to-business ties.

Moreover, he said that the presence of numerous Indian business entities at the convention was the biggest vote of confidence not only in the relationship between the two countries but also in Sri Lanka’s potential.

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India is the largest investor and the biggest helping hand

Business and commercial linkages between the two countries are witnessing steady growth. India was the largest investor and also the biggest export destination for Sri Lanka in 2021.

India continues to be the largest source of tourists as well. Indian companies in Sri Lanka actively support Sri Lanka’s economic recovery through increased economic activities, value addition of products, and services, job creation for Sri Lankan nationals and direct assistance to the people of Sri Lanka through various corporate social responsibility activities.

According to the media reports, India has gone over and above to help Sri Lanka’s collapsing economy which has led to food, fuel and even medicine shortages.

Sri Lanka’s unprecedented economic crisis had paradoxically brought the best out of India’s concerns for its southern neighbour given the island nations’ proximity in economic cooperation with China until then. When the crisis started to bite a year ago, India came forward with assistance worth USD 4 billion.

India has also given the required assurances to debt-ridden Sri Lanka for the much-needed IMF bailout package.

Sri Lanka, which is trying to secure a USD 2.9 billion bridge loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was negotiating to get financial assurances from its major creditors – China, Japan and India – which is the requisite for Colombo to get the bailout package.

The IMF bailout has been put on hold as Sri Lanka pursues talks with creditors to meet the global lender’s conditions for it.