New Delhi (TDI): Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Monday vowed to bolster relations with India on his first overseas trip as head of state, with a red-carpet welcome by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Leaders of Sri Lanka typically make their first trip to India, which competes with China for influence in the Indian Ocean.
Leftist Dissanayake, who came to power in September on a promise to fight corruption, said the relations between the two countries held a “significant place” in their foreign policy, adding that Narendra Modi had “assured us of complete support”.
Modi said he was “happy” that New Delhi was Dissanayake’s first foreign trip, saying after their meeting it would “add new energy and speed” to relations.
India is a key trading partner for Sri Lanka— Indian exports totalled 4.1 billion dollars to Sri Lanka, versus 1.4 billion dollars in reverse — and is pushing infrastructure projects.
But Beijing is Colombo’s largest bilateral lender.
Dissanayake is likely to travel to China for talks with Chinese leaders in early 2025.
Also Read: Sri Lankan-Indian Foreign Ministers hold diplomatic talks
Sri Lanka suffered its worst economic crisis in 2022 when it ran out of foreign reserves to pay for essential imports such as food, medicines and fuel, and defaulted on its 46 billion dollars foreign debt.
Dissanayake said that his country faced an unprecedented financial crisis two years ago and New Delhi supported it immensely to come out of that quagmire.
Also Read: Minister of External Affairs of India concludes visits to Sri Lanka
Dissanayake said he had held “productive meeting” with India’s foreign and finance ministers, as well as national security adviser Ajit Doval.
