Jaishankar visits Sri Lanka with stronger ties, China in focus
India's foreign minister S Jaishankar arrives in Colombo on Thursday following his country's backing of Sri Lanka for a 2.9 billion US dollar International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan, leaving China as the island's last remaining major creditor to agree to a debt restructuring plan.
India has told global lender IMF that it strongly supports Sri Lanka's debt restructuring plan, with Colombo owing around 1 billion dollar to its nearest neighbour.
But Sri Lanka requires the backing of both China and India-its biggest bilateral lenders- to reach a final agreement with the IMF on the loan that is essential to help the country of nearly 22 million people emerge from its worst financial crisis in seven decades.
During his two-day visit, his third to Sri Lanka since 2021, FM S Jaishankar will look to strengthen India's relations with its debt-ridden neighbour and sign several key deals.
The two nations are also expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding for a renewable power project covering three islands in Sri Lanka's north during India's foreign minister visit, two sources at Sri Lanka's power and energy ministry said.
S Jaishankar will meet Sri Lanka's president on Friday morning, his office confirmed. Jaishankar will also hold discussions with Sri Lanka's premier and foreign minister, according to a statement from India's foreign ministry.
New Delhi separately provided Sri Lanka with about 4 billion dollar in rapid assistance between January and July previous year, including credit lines, a currency swap arrangement and deferred import payments.
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