New Delhi: Amid the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe thanked India for extending support and expressed a desire to further strengthen relations between both the countries. Since the island nation plunged into the crisis, India has been providing economic help to the country.
Taking to his twitter handle, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said, “I expressed our country’s appreciation for the support India has extended during this difficult period. I look forward to further strengthening ties between our nations,” reported news agency ANI.
Wickremesinghe further thanked India and Japan for their response made at the Quad to setting up a foreign aid consortium to assist the crisis-hit island nation.
“Assistance from India and Japan: I am grateful for the positive response from India and Japan to the proposal made for the Quad members (United States, India, Japan, and Australia) to take the lead in setting up a foreign aid consortium to assist Sri Lanka,” said the Sri Lankan Prime Minister in his tweet.
Earlier this month, bot Indian and Japan had agreed to work with each other in helping Sri Lanka fight the economic crisis and deterioration humanitarian situation in the country.
Wickremesinghe’s appreciation tweet came on Friday, immediately after India donated 25 tons of drugs and other medical supplies valued at close to SLR 260 million, reported ANI.
The humanitarian supplies was in continuation of the Indian government’s ongoing support to Sri Lanka in the form of financial assistance, forex support, material supply etc, said the Indian High Commission.
“These efforts testify to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy which places people-to-people engagement at its core,” the high commission said in a statement, as reported by ANI.