Sri Lankan President arrives in India on his first foreign visit

 Monday, December 16, 2024

Islamabad (Point News Today / Pakistan Point News - 16th Dec, 2024 ) President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has termed relations with India as an important part of Sri Lanka's foreign policy. President Dissanayake, who took office in September with a pledge to eradicate corruption in the country, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured him of full support to Sri Lanka.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also welcomed President Dissanayake's visit to India. He said that the meeting will give new energy and momentum to the relations between the two countries.

The Indian government, which is deeply concerned about China's growing influence in Sri Lanka, warmly welcomed Anura Kumara Dissanayake with military honors at the President's House.

India is a major trading partner of Sri Lanka, with exports worth $4.1 billion. It is also providing assistance to Sri Lanka in development projects.

However, China is Sri Lanka’s largest creditor and President Dissanayake is also expected to visit Beijing to meet Chinese leaders in early 2025.

In 2022, Sri Lanka experienced a severe foreign exchange crisis, which led to severe shortages of essential items such as food, fuel and medicines.

As a result of this financial crisis, the country, which was saddled with a foreign debt of $46 billion, went bankrupt.

“We faced an unprecedented economic crisis two years ago and India helped us to overcome it,” said President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

He also described the discussions on economic and security issues between the two countries with Indian Finance Minister, External Affairs Minister and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval as useful.

Sri Lanka’s geographical location makes it important in global trade and politics. It is located near this important sea route, which is used to transport goods between countries in the Middle East and East Asia.

In November, a New York court indicted Gautam Adani, a close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chairman of India's leading conglomerate Adani Group, and his associates on charges of bribery and fraud, which the Adani Group strongly denied.

Not only did the company's share price fall significantly after this, but doubts also arose about its governance.

However, despite these allegations, the Sri Lankan government decided to continue with the Adani port project in Colombo.