Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajapaksa thanked the Indian government for what he called “generous assistance extended to Sri Lanka during the current difficult period,” as he met with India’s envoy in Colombo this morning.
The newly appointed Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay met with Rajapaksa, where they “reaffirmed two country’s commitment to further strengthening bilateral relations exploring new avenues of cooperation,” according to an official press release.
The meeting comes after Rajapaksa spoke to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi last week, where he requested a USD 1.1 billion currency swap that “would enormously help Sri Lanka in dealing with our foreign exchange issues”.
Sri Lanka is currently facing an unprecedented economic crisis with a minister this morning calling it “the worst foreign exchange crisis in history”.
Baglay also discussed Indian projects on the island with Rajapaksa, the construction of the East Terminal of the Colombo Port, which the Sri Lankan president had already called on Modi to expedite “as early as possible”.
“President and the Indian High Commissioner stressed the need to expedite the implementation of already agreed joint projects for the benefit of both countries,” said the press release. “Areas such as tertiary education, tourism, information and communication technology, agriculture and agri-based products were mentioned for enhancing bilateral cooperation.”
See more from the President’s Media Division here.
