New Delhi: India on Thursday said it is ready to continue to support Sri Lanka facing severe economic crisis under its ‘neighbourhood first’ policy to bring its economic condition back on track and is closely monitoring developments there. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said this in response to a question in the weekly press briefing on Thursday. “Our (India-Sri Lanka) cooperation is based on common issues and interests and it has strengthened in recent months,” he said.
When asked about the economic crisis in Sri Lanka and the supply problems caused by it, the spokesperson said, “India, as a neighbor and close friend, is closely monitoring the evolving economic situation and other developments in Sri Lanka.” He said that India has provided assistance of 2.5 billion dollars to the neighboring country in the last three months to overcome some of the economic difficulties being faced by the people of Sri Lanka.
The spokesman said the credit facility covers food grains and fuel and till mid-March 270,000 metric tonnes of fuel was supplied to Sri Lanka. Apart from this, 40 thousand tonnes of rice has been supplied to Sri Lanka under the recently provided one billion line of credit, he said.
Significantly, Sri Lanka is currently facing the worst economic crisis. Due to the shortage of foreign exchange in the country, there has been a shortage of essential goods like fuel and cooking gas. There is power cut for 12 hours a day. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Bagchi said that India-Sri Lanka relations are based on the values and aspirations of the people based on common civilization. He said, “We are viewing recent developments in this context and stand ready to continue supporting Sri Lanka in its post-Covid economic recovery in line with India’s Neighborhood First Policy.” ,
A day earlier, the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka said in a tweet, “Work on India’s Line of Credit for Fuel Begins. 36 thousand metric tonnes of petrol and 40 thousand metric tonnes of diesel were supplied. A total of 2,70,000 metric tonnes of fuel has been supplied so far under Indian assistance.
It is noteworthy that due to this severe economic crisis in Sri Lanka, the difficulties of Sri Lanka’s ruling coalition led by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa have increased significantly and it is also under pressure to resign. However, the Sri Lankan government said on Wednesday that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa would not resign under any circumstances and that he would face the current issues.