Page 6 - India-sri Lanka

Expecting Sri Lankan prez's visit to impart momentum to bilateral ties: MEA

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday kicked off a two-day visit to India that is expected to impart a new momentum in bilateral ties, especially in the economic and trade sphere. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Wickremesinghe will hold wide-ranging talks on Friday covering all key aspects of relations between the two countries. It is the first visit to India by a Sri Lankan leader since the island nation reeled under a severe economic crises last year. "We Look forward to the visit to impart a new momentum to the relationship," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at his weekly media briefing. India extended financial assistance worth around USD 4 billion to Sri Lanka including lines of credit for purchases of food and fuel last year when it was hit by the economic crisis. New Delhi also provided guarantees to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help the country secure a USD 2.9 billion bailout package. In the evening, External Affairs

Expecting Lankan President's visit to impart new momentum to ties: MEA

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday kicked off a two-day visit to India that is expected to impart a new momentum in bilateral ties, especially in the economic and trade sphere. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Wickremesinghe will hold wide-ranging talks on Friday covering all key aspects of relations between the two countries. "We Look forward to the visit to impart a new momentum to the relationship," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at his weekly media briefing. India extended financial assistance worth around USD 4 billion to Sri Lanka including lines of credit for purchases of food and fuel last year when it was reeling under a severe economic crisis. New Delhi also provided guarantees to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help the country secure a USD 2.9 billion bailout package. "This is a very important visit. It (Sri Lanka) is a neighbouring country with whom we have very important and multi-faceted relations. I do not wan

Stalin urges PM Modi to take up fishermen issue with visiting Lankan Prez

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take up with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the issue of protection of the traditional fishing rights of Indian fishermen. Pointing to Wickremesinghe's two-day official visit to the country this week, Stalin outlined 'retrieval' of Katchatheevu island and addressing the genuine aspirations of the Tamil-speaking people in Sri Lanka as matters of great concern to the people of Tamil Nadu. At the invitation of Prime Minister Modi, Wickremesinghe is set to visit India on an official visit on July 21. This will be his first visit to the country since assuming the 'current responsibilities,' according to the External Affairs Ministry. Stalin, writing to Modi, said it is imperative to protect the social, political, cultural and economic rights of the Tamils in Sri Lanka so that they could lead dignified lives as equal citizens. "For this purpose, there must be adequate and meaningful devolution of

Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe to visit India to further cement ties

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe will embark on a two-day official visit to India on Thursday for talks with the country's top leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to further advance and consolidate the bilateral relations. This will be Wickremesinghe's first visit to India after being appointed President of the cash-strapped country last year following the ouster of Gotabaya Rajapaksa in a people's uprising in July. President Wickremesinghe is undertaking the official visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sri Lanka's foreign ministry said in a statement this week. The visit takes place as both countries celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year. During the visit, President Wickremesinghe would meet his counterpart Droupadi Murmu and hold bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishanakar and other Indian dignitaries on a range of issues of mutual ...

Foreign Secy Kwatra meets Sri Lankan FM; discusses Prez's India visit

Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra on Tuesday met Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Ali Sabry and discussed bilateral ties and the upcoming state visit of President Ranil Wickremesinghe to India. Kwatra arrived here on Monday night on a two-day official visit to take stock of several Indian projects and prepare the ground for Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe's trip to India next week. The Sri Lankan foreign minister in a tweet said he discussed with the Indian foreign secretary the upcoming state visit of Wickremesinghe to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Our discussion also centred around strengthening the bilateral relationship between our two countries for the mutual benefit of our people," the tweet said. Earlier, Kwatra met his Sri Lankan counterpart Aruni Wijewardena for talks. Officials said Kwatra would assess several Indian projects in multiple sectors which are in the pipeline and prepare the ground for Wickremesinghe's visit to India. Wickremes

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe to visit India on July 21

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe will embark on a two-day visit to India on July 21 during which he is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, officials here said on Sunday. This will be Wickremesinghe's first visit to India since being appointed President of the cash-strapped country last year following the ouster of Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in a people's uprising in July. Wickremesinghe was appointed President for the balance term of Rajapaksa till September 2024. India's Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra will arrive in Sri Lanka early next week to work out the arrangements for Wickremesinghe's visit to New Delhi, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported on Saturday. According to officials, Wickremesinghe is expected to meet Prime Minister Modi during his two-day visit to India. Officials said Wickremesinghe will finalise the implementation of several Indian projects related to power and energy, agriculture, and maritime issues in the island nation ahead of his departure

Indian travel association to help in boosting tourist flow to Sri Lanka

A leading travel-related association of India has resolved to help Sri Lanka in reviving its tourism sector by promoting the flow of tourists to the island nation that is making comprehensive efforts to recover from the devastating economic crisis last year. The three-day Indian Travel Congress, which was held in Colombo as part of the 67th convention of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), concluded on Saturday with a dazzling display of fireworks, gala dinner and music and dance performances with many famous Bollywood numbers sang in Sinhala language by performers. "We are both alike, India and Sri Lanka, our food, language, culture and dresses, and tourism builds bridges between two communities and two countries, and we at TAAI support Sri Lanka in its efforts to revive tourism, above and beyond this convention," Jyoti Mayal, the President of the 72-year-old TAAI, said in her address. After her address on Saturday night, she asked TAAI delegates to take a pledge that ea

India will continue to support Sri Lanka in overcoming its financial crisis

India has reiterated its willingness to play "a constructive role" in supporting Sri Lanka's efforts for recovery from the worst economic crisis. Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Construction, Power and Energy Expo 2023 in Colombo on Friday, India's Deputy High Commissioner Vinod K Jacob said that recent developments in India-Sri Lanka ties have strengthened the friendship and all-around cooperation between the two countries. We were the first creditor nation in January this year to convey the financing assurances needed to kick start the IMF process. India will continue to play a constructive role as a Co-Chair of the Creditors Committee along with Japan and the Paris Club, he said. India in January this year became the first country to hand over its letter of support for financing and debt restructuring of Sri Lanka to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In May this year, 17 countries that have extended loans to Sri Lanka formed an official creditor committee' ...

Sri Lanka's speaker thanks India for help during financial crisis

Expressing his gratitude to "trustworthy friend" India for saving Sri Lanka and preventing a "bloodbath" during its unprecedented economic crisis last year, Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena has said that not a single nation has extended that kind of assistance to Colombo as done by New Delhi. Sri Lanka was hit by a catastrophic financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves. As the country struggled, locked in the throes of the crisis, India extended multi-pronged assistance of about USD 4 billion to it last year, through multiple credit lines and currency support, in line with India's Neighbourhood First' policy. In his address at the gala dinner reception hosted for delegates of the Indian Travel Congress here on Friday, Abeywardena said India "saved us" during the financial crisis, otherwise, there would have been "another bloodbath for all of us". At the evening reception, he thank

Boat service between Sri Lanka, India to be delayed further: Lanka Minister

The much-anticipated passenger boat service between India and Sri Lanka will be further delayed after New Delhi changed the port chosen for the boat service, a senior minister said here on Saturday. The boast service was to begin in April. Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva said the commencement of passenger boat service between India and Sri Lanka will be delayed, Newsfirst Lanka reported. The minister said that India has changed the port it had chosen for the boat service. India has requested a few more days to increase the facilities at the Nagapatnam port in Tamil Nadu which has been selected for that purpose, the Minister was quoted as saying by the report. Earlier the minister said the ferry service between Karaikal in Puducherry and Kankesanthurai in port in Jaffna district in Sri Lanka would begin on April 29. The construction of a 1,000 square metre passenger terminal for immigration and customs clearance of travellers who intend to use the

Govt to not allow SL to be used as base for any threats against India: Prez

Assuring that Sri Lanka will not be utilised as a base for any threats against India, Wickremesinghe emphasised that his nation is a neutral one

Sri Lanka resolved most of its problems with support from India: Rajapakshe

Sri Lankan minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has praised the Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for helping his country during the economic and political crisis. He also said the Sri Lankan government will soon set up Truth and Reconciliation Commission to bring long-standing peace to the island nation with consensus from all communities. The minister further said the Sri Lankan government is holding continuous interactions with the Tamil diaspora and people and leaders living in different parts of the world. "We resolved most of our problems with the support we got from the Indian government led by PM Modi. We are hopeful to bring normalcy back to Sri Lanka" Rajapakshe, who handles the Justice Department, told PTI on Saturday on the sidelines of the Peace Conference in Nagpur city of Maharashtra. Sri Lanka was hit by an unprecedented financial crisis in 2022 that also sparked political turmoil in the island nation which led to the ouster of the all-powerful ...

Sri Lanka lifts import restrictions on 286 items as economic woes eases

Sri Lanka has lifted import restrictions on nearly 300 items with immediate effect, the Finance Ministry announced on Saturday, in a clear sign that the island nation is slowly but surely emerging from its worst economic crisis in decades. Last year, Sri Lanka plunged into its worst economic crisis since its independence in 1948 due to plummeting foreign exchange reserves that caused severe shortages of essential items and triggered massive public protests. In April 2022, Sri Lanka declared its international debt default due to the forex crisis. Sri Lanka's economic situation has improved after it secured a USD 3 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in March. The IMF lifeline helped Sri Lanka bolster its foreign exchange reserves and stabilise the spiralling inflation. With the economy stabilising, import restrictions on 286 items have been lifted from Friday midnight, the Finance Ministry said in a statement. Restrictions on 928 items will continue,

Gujarat firm gets notice as poor-quality eye drops infect 30 Sri Lankans

Pharmexcil has sought an explanation from the Gujarat-based firm on the internal investigation within the next two days, the reports said

India played key role in IMF's clearance of 48-month EFF to Sri Lanka

India played a crucial role in the International Monetary Fund (IMF's) clearance of a 48-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) worth USD 2.9 billion to crisis-hit Sri Lanka, reported True Ceylon

India hopes for SL's early recovery from economic crisis: Commissioner

India on Tuesday expressed hope that Sri Lanka would soon achieve early economic recovery, with the Indian Deputy High Commissioner here, reaffirming New Delhi's steadfast support to the island nation through the crisis. Sri Lanka has been struck by a catastrophic economic and humanitarian crisis sparked by years of mismanagement and the raging pandemic. Vinod K Jacob, the Deputy High Commissioner of India, speaking at the Coordination Forum of Development Partners of Sri Lanka, said that "India had steadfastly supported the people of Sri Lanka through the economic crisis as well as at the IMF," a press release by the Indian High Commission in Colombo said. Jacob expressed hope that Sri Lanka will achieve early economic recovery. Explaining the flagship development cooperation partnership between Delhi and Colombo, the Deputy High Commissioner said that the engagement was based on the principles of South-South cooperation between friendly neighbours. The projects are selected in l

India, Sri Lanka to jointly build solar power plant in island nation

India and Sri Lanka have agreed to jointly build in two stages a 135-megawatt solar power plant in the island nation's eastern port district of Trincomalee to promote renewable energy. Sri Lankan Cabinet has given approval for the project as the country aims to generate 70 per cent of its electricity requirement by 2030 from renewable energy sources. "The National Thermal Power Corporation of India and the Ceylon Electricity Board have entered into an agreement to jointly implement a solar power project in two stages," said a note from the Cabinet meeting held this week. "As the first stage of this project, it is expected to implement a solar power project of 50 megawatts with a total estimated investment of USD 42.5 million and to construct a 220 kilowatts transmission line with 40-km length from Sampoor to Kappalthure spending USD 23.6 million, it said. It is expected to complete this stage in two years from 2024 to 2025," it said. A solar power generation plant with an additiona

India will help Sri Lanka in oil sector despite recent changes: Officials

Colombo awards licences to three foreign firms, including a Chinese one, to operate in retail fuel market

SL, India to sign a deal to shift to renewable energy to generate power

Sri Lanka will sign a memorandum of understanding with India to promote renewable energy as the Island nation aims to generate 70 per cent of electricity requirements from renewable sources by 2030

Sri Lanka to seek fresh $1 billion credit from India to buy essential items

Sri Lanka would seek a new temporary credit facility of USD 1 billion from India to purchase essential items including food and medicine, the official media here reported on Monday. Sri Lanka received 333 million dollars, the first tranche of the USD 3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme last week to overcome its economic crisis and catalyse financial support from other development partners. The Sri Lankan finance ministry officials held talks with its Indian counterparts to obtain the new temporary USD 1 billion facility for the "purchase of essential foodstuff, medicines and other goods for the country," the state-run Daily News newspaper reported. Meanwhile, former Central Bank Governor Dr Indrajith Coomaraswamy, speaking at a discussion organised by the Centre for Banking Studies of the Central Bank, said, the negotiations are also underway to secure an Indian rupee swap from RBI. The amount is still uncertain; it could be up to the equivalent of USD 1 .