Page 11 - India-sri Lanka

India is Sri Lanka's biggest friend in time of crisis, says Sri Lanka PM

Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena has said that India is the biggest friend of the island nation in times of crisis. Sri Lanka declared bankruptcy last year and defaulted on its USD 51 billion foreign loans for the first time since independence from Britain in 1948. India has played a significant role in aiding the island nation over the last year to tide over the economic crisis. Addressing the Tata Tiscon Dealer Convention 2023 in Colombo, Prime Minister Gunawardena called on Indian companies to invest further in Sri Lanka. He further said that India is the biggest friend of Sri Lanka in times of crisis, the Colombo Gazette portal reported. Outlining the benefits of Indian investments in Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Gunawardena highlighted that 90 per cent of components used by Lanka Ashok Leyland were indigenous, it said. Speaking at the event, High Commissioner Gopal Baglay said that both Government of India and Indian corporates are working to build relationships tha

India a dependable partner, reliable friend of Sri Lanka: Muraleedharan

India is always a dependable partner and a reliable friend of Sri Lanka, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said. His remarks came as he attended Sri Lanka's 75th Independence Day. Several other foreign dignitaries also attended the event. Muraleedharan said he was happy to represent India at "friendly neighbour" Sri Lanka's 75th Independence Day celebrations. "This milestone coincides with 75 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between both countries India is always a dependable partner and a reliable friend of Sri Lanka," he tweeted. Muraleedharan also prayed to The Buddha at the sacred Gangaramaya Temple in Colombo. "Offered his respects to Ven Dr. Kirinde Assaji Thero," the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka tweeted. Assaji Thero is the Chief Incumbent of Gangaramaya Temple. Muraleedharan highlighted the close civilisational ties between India and Sri Lanka which are manifested, including through Buddhism. Last year, India extended USD 3.9 bi

Muraleedharan to attend Lanka's Independence Day celebrations on Saturday

State Minister for External Affairs V Muraleedharan will represent India at Sri Lanka's 75th Independence Day celebrations to be held here on Saturday and hold bilateral interactions with President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, officials said on Friday. Along with Muraleedharan, several other foreign dignitaries, including the head of the Commonwealth Patricia Scotland are to attend the main event in the capital, Colombo. The security has been beefed up in the capital with armed troops manning the most popular junctions in and around Colombo's immediate suburbs. The trip by Muraleedharan to Colombo comes nearly two weeks after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Sri Lanka. Muraleedharan will have bilateral meetings with Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe and Foreign Minister Sabry, officials here said. Muraleedharan will also have an interaction with the prominent members of the Indian diaspora. His two-day visit is a reflection of deeper bilate

S Jaishankar meets Sri Lanka's High Commissioner, bilateral ties discussed

Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to India, Milinda Moragoda, called on External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday. They discussed how to take the relationship forward between the two countries

India to double its high-impact community development project in Sri Lanka

India on Friday agreed to double its high-impact community development project in Sri Lanka with a new bilateral agreement signed during the much-anticipated visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Jaishankar, who is on a two-day visit to the debt-trapped island nation, met top leaders to enhance bilateral ties and finalise a debt restructuring plan to help Colombo carve out a path from its economic crisis. "This agreement related to community development projects in Sri Lanka with the support of the government of India was signed in May 2005. Its project limit was rupees 300 million which will now be doubled to rupees 600 million by the agreement signed today," a statement from President Ranil Wickremesinghe's office said. Jaishankar also handed over 300 completed houses in the Galle, Kandy, and Nuwara Eliya districts in the housing project implemented by India. Wickremesinghe's office said that during the talks special attention was paid to the debt restructuring program

India committed to increasing investment in Lanka: EAM Jaishankar

India has told the global lender that it strongly supports Sri Lanka's debt restructuring plan, with Colombo owing around $1 billion to its nearest neighbour

Lanka thanks India for support, assurances given to IMF to restructure debt

Jaishankar, who is here on a two-day visit, on Thursday met Sri Lanka's top leadership, including his Sri Lankan counterpart Ali Sabry and President Ranil Wickremesinghe

EAM discuss cooperation in infra, connectivity with Lankan counterpart

'Conveyed our commitment to increasing investment flows to Sri Lanka to hasten its economic recovery. Look forward to my discussions with the leadership tomorrow morning'

EAM Jaishankar arrives in Sri Lanka to finalise plans on debt restructuring

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived here for a much-anticipated visit to Sri Lanka to finalise a debt restructuring plan to help Colombo carve out path from its worst economic crisis

Like India said, 13A should be implemented: Sri Lanka president

13th Amendment is for devolution of power to the Tamil community

EAM likely to visit Lanka on Jan 19; talks on debt restructuring expected

Sri Lanka will hold debt restructuring talks with India when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is expected to visit Colombo this week, President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said, as the cash-strapped country looks to carve a path out of its worst financial crisis. The crisis-hit island nation, which is trying to secure a much-needed USD 2.9 billion bridge loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has been trying to get financial assurances from its major creditors China, Japan and India which is the requisite for Colombo to get the bailout package. The IMF bailout has been put on a halt as Sri Lanka pursues talks with creditors to meet the global lender's condition for the facility. Addressing trade unionists here on Saturday, President Wickremesinghe said his government has concluded debt restructuring talks with Japan and will hold such meetings with India this month. Wickremesinghe, who also holds the finance ministry portfolio, said that the debt restructuring talks

July 9 uprising unified Sri Lanka across races: Booker Prize winner

It was a movement, especially July 9, 2022 where the whole country unified across races, generations, political views: Shehan Karunatilaka

Sri Lankan central bank urges India, China to reduce debts at the earliest

Sri Lanka, which is currently amidst the worst-ever economic crisis since its independence in 1948, defaulted on its debt repayments and negotiated a $2.9 billion bailout

Century-old railway track in Sri Lanka being rebuilt with Indian assistance

The reconstruction work of a century-old railway track in northern Sri Lanka, which will be completed under India's assistance, was officially inaugurated here on Monday, a move aimed at enhancing mobility of goods and services and boosting economic activity in the cash-strapped island nation. The 43-km long reconstructed railway track between Medawachchiya and Madhu Road represents the first phase of the project to reconstruct the Northern Railway Line, covering 252 km. IRCON International, an Indian company that has contributed to several railway reconstruction projects in Sri Lanka, is headlining this project. Additionally, ancillary works from Maho to Omanthai 128 km is also being undertaken by IRCON, under an existing line of credit (LoC) of USD 318 million, at a cost of USD 91.27 million. As a long-standing development partner of Sri Lanka, the Government of India executed several projects in Sri Lanka under its concessional loans and grant schemes. Of the different sectors o

India provides 75 buses to Sri Lanka to support public transport system

India has handed 75 passenger buses to Sri Lanka as part of its assistance towards strengthening public transport infrastructure in the cash-strapped country. As part of its 'Neighbourhood First' policy, India has extended multi-pronged assistance to Sri Lanka to help the country tide over its worst economic and humanitarian crisis since its independence from Great Britain in 1948. Supporting mobility and accessibility in Sri Lanka, High Commissioner handed over 75 buses for use by Transport Board. 500 buses are being supplied to Sri Lanka through Indian assistance towards strengthening public transport infrastructure, the Indian High Commission here said in a statement. In a similar move, India handed 125 SUVs to the Sri Lanka Police under a line of credit in December to support the island nation and help it address the serious mobility restriction issues faced by the police, due to the non-availability of vehicles. The Sri Lankan government in May last year declared a debt defaul

India's response to debt restructuring request expected by Jan end: SL

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that India's response to cash-strapped Sri Lanka's request for debt restructuring is expected by the end of this month. Sri Lanka, which is trying to secure a USD 2.9 billion bridge loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has been trying to to get financial assurances from its major creditors -- China, Japan and India -- which is the requisite for Colombo to get the bailout package. Talking to the media, Wickremesinghe on Friday also said that he is hopeful of obtaining the USD 2.9 billion IMF facility in the first quarter of this year. Sri Lanka had begun debt restructuring talks with its creditors since September last year as warranted by its agreement with the IMF for the USD 2.9 billion facility over four years. The cash-strapped country began negotiating with the IMF for a bail-out after having announced its first-ever sovereign debt default in April last year. Wickremesinghe had earlier said that India and Sri Lanka held ...

India sends 125 SUVs to Sri Lanka police under 'Neighbourhood First Policy'

India has handed 125 SUVs to the Sri Lankan police under a line of credit as part of its ongoing efforts to support the cash-strapped island nation and address the serious mobility restriction issues faced by the police due to non-availability of vehicles. As part of its 'Neighbourhood First' policy, India has extended multi-pronged assistance to Sri Lanka over the last 12 months to help the country tide over its worst economic and humanitarian crisis since its independence from Great Britain in 1948. Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay on Thursday handed over 125 SUVs to Sri Lanka's Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles for Sri Lanka Police in an official ceremony. Taking to Twitter, the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka said that another 375 SUVs will be dispatched to Colombo under an existing line of credit. India's Support to Sri Lanka continues. The High Commissioner ceremonially handed over 125 Mahindra SUVs to Hon. Min of Public Security, Tiran Alles for Sri Lanka. Pol

India's support for Lanka's green development assured: High Commissioner

India's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Bhagle has said that India's assistance to Sri Lanka is not limited to economic cooperation but also to the island nation's green development process. Bhagle made the remarks when he visited the Seethawaka Botanical Garden here at the invitation of Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena on Wednesday and planted a sapling in celebration of 75 years of independence of India. According to a statement by the Sri Lankan Prime Minister's Office, Bhagle said, "India's support for Sri Lanka's green development process is deserved. The relations between the two countries are not limited to economic cooperation." He also reiterated India's full support of Sri Lanka's programme of promoting renewable energy. Gunawardena, lauding the bilateral relationship between the two countries said, The Indo-Sri Lankan friendship is not limited to a few years. It spans many centuries. Bilateral relations between the two countries have become stronger every time." "B

India, SL to launch ferry service between Kankesanthurai and Pondicherry

Sri Lanka and India will start a passenger ferry service next month between Kankesanthurai port in Jaffna district and Pondicherry, according to media reports. Ports, Shipping, and Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said arrangements were made to start the ferry service in mid-January next year, Colombo Page reported. The minister said the Indian government had extended consent for the service, Daily Mirror reported. "A large number of Indian citizens are engaged in business activities in the Jaffna Peninsula. With such engagement, the new service is expected to generate a large portion of foreign revenue. It will also be of immense convenience for Buddhist pilgrims to India," the minister said. The minister said that passenger transport services will also be started from south India to Trincomalee and Colombo in Sri Lanka. He pointed out that till now no firm conclusion has been reached about starting the ferry service between Thalaimannar and India. De Silva added

Lanka prez holds all-party meeting for peaceful resolution of Tamil issue

An all-party meeting convened by President Ranil Wickremesinghe has discussed the 13th Amendment to Sri Lanka's Constitution as mooted by India to resolve the long-standing demand for political autonomy for the minority Tamils in the island nation, political leaders said on Wednesday. The Tamil parties which participated in the meeting on Tuesday urged the government to hold the northern provincial council election. The 13A is already a part of the Constitution and it is a point that most parties agreed to, Tamil Progressive Alliance (TNA) leader Mano Ganesan told PTI. Ganesan, who represents mostly the Western province-based Tamils of Indian origin, said President Wickremesinghe has asked him to forward proposals on the 13A issue on behalf of the hill country Tamil community or the Tamils of Indian origin. India has been pressing Sri Lanka to implement the 13th Amendment which was brought in after the Indo-Sri Lankan agreement of 1987. The 13A provides for devolution of power to t