Sri Lanka’s High
Commissioner Milinda Moragoda met India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
during which he discussed steps to attract Indian investments to his country.
Moragoda and
Sitharaman also talked about the way forward in bilateral economic cooperation.
During the
meeting, Moragoda proposed enhancing
bilateral trade particularly through settlement in India rupees and
increasing the flow of Indian tourists to Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan high
commission said in a statement.
The finance
minister and the high commissioner agreed that these measures would help in
recovery of Sri Lanka’s economy.
The meeting comes
following the $3 billion International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) approval to a
bailout package for Sri Lanka.
Moragoda thanked Prime
Minister Narendra Modi-led Indian government for its role in the realisation of
IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement for Sri Lanka.
The meeting
between Moragoda and Sitharaman on Tuesday 21 March was the latest in a series
since November 2021 that focused on Indian economic cooperation and assistance
to Sri Lanka in the context to the ongoing economic crisis.
Last year, India provided aid
worth nearly $4 billion, including lines of credit to help its neighbour, Sri
Lanka, purchase food, fuel and medicines and deferred payment of loans.