President Gotabaya Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka expresses gratitude to India for its “invaluable help”

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa hailed India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar for his “invaluable help” to Sri Lanka, which is undergoing one of its worst economic crises.

Since January, India has provided $2.4 billion in aid to the island nation in the form of currency swaps, loan deferments, and credit lines for crucial imports to help it cope with a crippling dollar crisis and shortages. Following Mr. Jaishankar’s discussions with President Gotabaya, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, and Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa on Monday, the Reuters news agency reported that Sri Lanka had requested a new $1 billion line of credit, citing “two sources” in Colombo.

When The Hindu enquired about the development, a senior Sri Lankan official acquainted with the ongoing talks denied that Colombo had made such a request. The countries had previously agreed to keep in close contact on any greater collaboration, according to the official.

President Gotabaya met Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar

“I met with Indian Foreign Minister @DrSJaishankar today, and on behalf of the people of #lka, I expressed my thanks to the Government of #India for the essential support offered recently via the line of credit,” President Gotabaya tweeted.

Mr. Jaishankar claimed in a tweet about the meeting that he ‘assured’ the President Gotabaya of “India’s ongoing cooperation and understanding.”

The Jaffna Cultural Centre, which was erected in India, has opened its doors.

Mr. Jaishankar, who is in Colombo for the BIMSTEC summit, which Sri Lanka is hosting this year, held a number of bilateral talks before his participation in the regional gathering. He effectively launched India–the built Jaffna Cultural Centre with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. The 11-story structure, which includes a 600-seat auditorium, conference hall, amphitheater, and digital library, was completed in early 2020 with an Indian grant of $11 million to serve as a public space for sharing art and culture in the war-torn area and had been awaiting inauguration for two years.

Mr. Jaishankar met with members of the government and opposition, including delegations from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which represents Tamils in the north and east and is led by R. Sampanthan, and the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TNA), which is led by Mano Ganesan and represents the Malaiyaha Tamils.

“The Indian External Affairs Minister encouraged us to continue interacting with the President Gotabaya, as we did recently in a meeting, and ensure that the government’s commitments on resolving Tamils’ specific problems are implemented,” TNA spokesman M.A. Sumanthiran said.

Mr. Mano Ganesan said he presented the TPA’s recent proposal for a “Non-Territorial Community Council” for hill country Tamils to represent the community’s interests and ambitions, which are geographically dispersed over the island.

In tweets about the meetings, Mr. Jaishankar said he talked with the TNA about “realizing the aspirations of the Tamils of Sri Lanka for equality, justice, peace, and dignity” and the TPA about “socio-economic issues of the [Malaiyaha Tamil] Indian origin Tamil community,” reiterating India’s commitment to a development partnership with the community.

Mr. Jaishankar had previously visited a fuel station managed by the Indian Oil Corporation subsidiary Lanka IOC to assess the supply situation in Sri Lanka, which has been plagued by regular shortages. “The $500 million Indian Line of Credit is assisting Sri Lankans in their daily lives,” he said, referring to the credit line given in February for emergency gasoline imports.