Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has met her Sri Lankan counterpart Ali Sabry right here and warranted him that as a detailed buddy and good neighbour, India will attempt to prolong all potential cooperation and help to the island nation amidst its worst financial disaster. Sri Lanka, which is on the point of chapter, is grappling with an unprecedented financial turmoil, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948.
Sitharaman, who’s right here for the annual spring conferences of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, mentioned the present financial state of affairs and India’s method in the direction of addressing the prevailing challenges in Sri Lanka on Monday, the Ministry of Finance mentioned.
“Union Finance Minister Smt.@nsitharaman met Sri Lanka Finance Minister Mr Ali Sabry on the sidelines of IMF-WB Spring Meetings, at Washington D.C., today, and discussed current economic situation and its approach towards addressing the prevailing challenges in Sri Lanka,” the Ministry of Finance mentioned on Twitter. “Union Finance Minister Smt.@nsitharaman assured Sri Lanka that as a close friend and good neighbour, India will try to extend all possible cooperation and assistance to Sri Lanka,” it mentioned in one other tweet.
As the island nation is experiencing its worst financial disaster in historical past, huge anti-government protests are being held all through the nation towards the federal government’s failure to deal with the disaster.With lengthy strains for gas, cooking gasoline, necessities briefly provide and lengthy hours of energy cuts, the general public has been struggling for months.
With the financial disaster and the scarcity of foreign exchange, an Indian credit score line of USD 500 million for gas imports offered a lifeline to the island nation. India just lately introduced to increase a USD 1 billion line of credit score to Sri Lanka as a part of its monetary help to the nation to take care of the financial disaster following a earlier USD 500 billion line of credit score in February to assist it buy petroleum merchandise.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has defended his authorities’s actions, saying the international change disaster was not his making and the financial downturn was largely pandemic pushed with the island nation’s tourism income and inward remittances waning.
Source: www.financialexpress.com”