Dissanayake says India-Sri Lanka relations hold \u201csignificant place\u201d in foreign policy, vows to bolster ties
\n NEW DELHI
\nSri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake vowed to bolster ties with India on Monday during his first overseas visit as head of state, with a red carpet welcome by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
\nLeaders of the island nation typically make their first visit to regional powerhouse India, which competes with China for influence in the Indian Ocean.
\nLeftist Dissanayake, who came to power in September on a pledge to fight corruption, said the ties between the nations held a \u201csignificant place\u201d in their foreign policy, adding that Modi had \u201cassured us of full support\u201d.
\nModi said he was \u201chappy\u201d that India was Dissanayake\u2019s first foreign visit, saying after their meeting it would \u201cadd new energy and speed\u201d to ties.
\nNew Delhi has been concerned about Beijing\u2019s growing hold in Sri Lanka, and gave Dissanayake a warm welcome with a military honour guard parade at the presidential palace.
\nNew Delhi is a key trading partner for Colombo \u2014 Indian exports totalled $4.1 billion to Sri Lanka, versus $1.4 billion in reverse \u2014 and is pushing infrastructure projects.
\nBut China is Sri Lanka\u2019s largest bilateral lender.
\nDissanayake is expected to travel to Beijing for talks with Chinese leaders in early 2025.
\nSupported immensely
\nSri Lanka suffered its worst financial crisis in 2022 when it ran out of foreign exchange to pay for essential imports such as food, fuel and medicines, and defaulted on its $46 billion foreign debt.
\n\u201cWe faced an unprecedented economic crisis two years ago and India supported us immensely to come out of that quagmire,\u201d Dissanayake added.
\nDissanayake said he had held \u201cproductive discussions\u201d with India\u2019s finance and foreign ministers, as well as national security adviser Ajit Doval.
\n\u201cOur conversations focused on strengthening Indo-Sri Lanka economic cooperation, enhancing investment opportunities, fostering regional security, and advancing key sectors such as tourism and energy,\u201d Dissanayake said in a statement.
\n\u201cThese engagements reaffirm the commitment to deepening the partnership between our two nations.\u201d
\nSri Lanka sits astride the world\u2019s busiest shipping route, which links the Middle East and East Asia, giving its maritime assets strategic importance.
\nDays before Dissanayake\u2019s visit, Sri Lanka said that Indian conglomerate Adani Group\u2019s port project in Colombo will go ahead despite US charges against its founder and sudden changes to its financing.
\nA November bombshell indictment in New York accused billionaire tycoon Gautam Adani and several colleagues of deliberately misleading international investors as part of a bribery scheme.
\nThe charges, roundly denied, sent Adani stocks into freefall and raised fresh questions over corporate governance at the family firm, whose founder is considered a close Modi ally.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dissanayake says India-Sri Lanka relations hold \u201csignificant place\u201d in foreign policy, vows to bolster ties NEW DELHI Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake vowed to bolster ties with India on Monday during his first overseas visit as head of state, with a red carpet welcome by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Leaders of the island nation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":449864,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-449845","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n