In response to a media inquiry on Tuesday over rumours of “no more financial help from New Delhi to Colombo,” India stated that it had provided the people of Sri Lanka with almost USD 4 billion in bilateral assistance this year.
The spokesperson for the Indian High Commission in Colombo, responding to a media inquiry, also argued for other bilateral and multilateral partners to help Sri Lanka quickly in its current economic troubles.
“We have viewed the pertinent news articles. We want to emphasise that India has provided unprecedented bilateral aid of close to USD 4 billion this year to help Sri Lanka’s people overcome their challenges. Additionally, India has urged other bilateral and multilateral partners to help Sri Lanka quickly in light of its present economic challenges “In a series of tweets, India in Sri Lanka stated.
India also continued to help Sri Lanka in all ways possible in an effort to keep it out of debt, notably by encouraging long-term investments from New Delhi in crucial Colombo economic areas for the country’s quick recovery and expansion.
“We also took notice of the completion of the Staff Level Agreement between the IMF and the Sri Lankan government. Its continued acceptance by the IMF is dependent on a number of factors, including Sri Lanka’s capacity to manage its debt. We continue to help Sri Lanka in any manner we can, particularly by encouraging long-term investments from India in crucial Sri Lankan economic sectors for its rapid economic recovery and expansion “The High Commission’s spokeswoman added.
India delivered 21,000 tonnes of fertiliser to a neighbouring country in difficulty on August 22.
The High Commission underlined that Sri Lankan citizens continue to benefit from scholarships for higher education and skill development at prestigious Indian institutions, underscoring the deep and long-standing relationship between India and Sri Lanka.
“Additionally, we have ongoing bilateral development cooperation projects in Sri Lanka for a total of around 3.5 billion dollars. Sri Lankans continue to benefit from scholarships offered by prestigious Indian universities for further study and skill development. The attempts to handle Sri Lanka’s present economic issues are also aided by these characteristics of our strong and long-standing partnership with Sri Lanka “It was added.
India has consistently offered assistance to the island nation that is drowning in debt as part of its “Neighborhood First” policy. In the last ten years, India has given Sri Lanka 8 Lines of Credit (LOCs) totaling USD 1,850.64 million.
India has been in the forefront of providing Sri Lanka with economic aid in accordance with their needs and is one of the nations that has given the most aid in a time of need.
Sri Lanka has been going through a worsening economic crisis since the start of 2022, and the government has stopped paying back its international creditors.
Numerous Sri Lankans are suffering from food and fuel shortages as a result of the country’s severe economic crisis. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic, the economy has been on a free slide.
Sri Lanka is also struggling with a lack of foreign currency, which has, incidentally, interfered with its ability to import food and fuel and resulted in power outages throughout the nation. Sri Lanka was compelled to ask friendly nations for aid due to a scarcity of necessities.
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