Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe reviews progress of Indian projects

The government of Tamil Nadu had separately sent humanitarian relief assistance to help in the crisis that soon turned into political unrest, leading to the resignation of then-president Rajapaksa

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday advised officials to act immediately and amend government circulars if they impede Indian investment projects in the cash-strapped island nation.

Wickremesinghe at a meeting attended by Vinod K Jacob, the Deputy Indian High Commissioner, examined the progress of several development projects in the country based on Indian investment cooperation, an official statement said.

Wickremesinghe advised the office to amend the relevant government circulars immediately if they impeded the development projects.

New Delhi at different times had raised the slow progress in implementing the Indian projects in the country.

In the ongoing economic crisis, India has provided Sri Lanka with credit lines for fuel, fertiliser and essential commodities worth USD 3.5 billion.

Additionally, three credit lines were provided to the tune of USD 1.5 billion and foreign exchange crisis support of USD 2 billion, the Indian High Commission said.

The government of Tamil Nadu had separately sent humanitarian relief assistance to help in the crisis that soon turned into political unrest, leading to the resignation of then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, the then prime minister, was appointed the president soon after Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives and later to Singapore. From Singapore, he flew to Thailand before returning to the country last week.