India said on Thursday that it was ready to continue assisting Sri Lanka in line with its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy with the island nation going through severe economic crisis.
Spokesperson for the ministry of external affairs, Arindam Bagchi said India has been closely observing the evolving economic situation and other developments in Sri Lanka.
India has extended assistance of approximately USD 2.5 billion in the past three months to Sri Lanka including credit facilities for fuel and food, he said.
Bagchi said, “Since mid-March, over 270,000 metric tonnes of diesel and petrol have been delivered to Sri Lanka. In addition, around 40,000 tonnes of rice have been supplied under the recently extended USD 1 billion credit facility.”
“We have already conveyed to them on various occasions our readiness to extend whatever support we can and as has been demonstrated by our actions till now,” he added.
Massive street protests erupted in the island nation in the last few days, and with the crisis worsening and amid growing public anger, almost all of the cabinet ministers resigned.
Calls for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is also growing, but he has stood strong against such demands.
He said that the relationship between the Sri Lanka and India was rooted in shared civilisational values and aspirations of people, referring to the overall ties between the two nations.
Meanwhile, Bagchi further said, “Our cooperation, based on commonality and interests, has been strengthened in recent months. We see the recent developments in this perspective and stand ready to continue working with Sri Lanka for rapid post-COVID economic recovery in line with India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy.”
“As a neighbour and close friend, India has been keenly following the evolving economic situation and other developments in Sri Lanka,” Bagchi added.
