Days after India announced a slew of measures to help Sri Lanka during its economic crisis, and the ExIm bank signed an agreement to provide a Line of Credit of $500 million, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister G.L.
Peiris arrived in Delhi for a meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, his first visit to India since he was appointed Foreign Minister last August.
In an interview to The Hindu he spoke of plans to take bilateral ties to a new level, even as he cautioned that clashes over fishing rights had become a “flashpoint” in the relationship.ExcerptsHas India’s economic support (including currency swap, lines of credit and debt deferral) in the past month changed the situation for Sri Lanka? There’s no doubt whatsoever that Indian support at this critical juncture has made a world of difference.
It has helped us to tide over the immediate difficulties which were obviously acute. The Indian support has several components, one of which is a 1 billion line of credit for the purchase of essential food items, pharmaceutical products, this is exceedingly useful for us at this time, there is also support for the purchase of oil.