India External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in Sri Lanka this afternoon (19).
Jaishankar, who completed an official visit to the Maldives, arrived in Sri Lanka and was welcomed by State Minister of Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Minister Jaishankar will engage in discussions later today with his Sri Lankan counterpart Minister Ali Sabry and President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Debt restructuring is expected to headline Jaishankar’s talks with Sri Lanka’s leadership.
On Tuesday, President Wickremesinghe said the government successfully completed debt restructuring talks with India.
Later the same day, India’s Additional Secretary of the Finance Ministry Rajat Kumar Mishra informed the International Monetary Fund Chief Kristalina Georgiva that New Delhi confirmed its support to Sri Lanka on the issue of debt restructuring.
India handed financial assistance of nearly USD 4 billion to Sri Lanka last year.
In January 2022, India announced a USD 900 million loan to build depleted foreign reserves as the financial crisis began to unfold.
Later, India offered a USD 500 million credit line to Sri Lanka to fund fuel purchases.
The credit line was later expanded to USD 700 million.
