Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay met the country’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe and reviewed all-round bilateral cooperation.
During the discussion, they also agreed to further strengthen close India-Sri Lanka ties in all spheres.
High Commissioner Baglay also handed over a statue of Maitri Buddha brought from India to President Wickremesinghe.
“High Commissioner handed over a statue of Maitri Buddha brought from India to Hon’ble President. In their discussions, they reviewed all-round bilateral cooperation and agreed to further strengthen close India-SriLanka ties in all spheres,” the High Commission of India in Colombo tweeted.
As Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948, India has been at the forefront in extending much-needed financial and humanitarian assistance to the island nation. The country has provided support of over $3.8 billion to Sri Lanka during this year.
Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million, is reeling under an economic crisis, which has led to an acute shortage of essential items like food, medicine, cooking gas, fuel and toilet paper, with Sri Lankans being forced to wait in lines for hours outside stores to buy fuel and cooking gas.
The country plunged into a political crisis in July after former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country following a massive public protest against his government for mismanaging the economy.
Rajapaksa flew to the Maldives on a Sri Lanka Airforce plane and then proceeded to Singapore, from where he sent in his resignation on July 14. Later, he flew to Thailand, seeking temporary shelter.
Following this, Sri Lanka’s parliament elected then-Acting President and six-time former PM Wickremesinghe as the new Head of State.
Months after he fled Sri Lanka, Rajapaksa will return to the country from Thailand in the early hours of Saturday, said reports citing official sources.
