Muristek
Colombo, March 27
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived here on Sunday to hold bilateral talks with Sri Lanka's top leadership and attend the seven-nation BIMSTEC summit. This is his first visit to the island nation since India extended an economic relief package to bail Sri Lanka out of crisis. "Arrived in Colombo for bilateral visit and BIMSTEC meeting. Look forward to my discussions over the next two days," he tweeted. Jaishankar arrived here after concluding his visit to the Maldives during which he held discussions with the country's top leadership on wide-ranging issues.
Furthering ties
His visit to Sri Lanka and the Maldives aims at exploring the possibilities of further expansion of bilateral engagements.The summit comes at a time when Lanka is in financial crisis.His visit to Sri Lanka and the Maldives are part of his tour to the two key maritime neighbours of India to explore the possibilities of further expansion of bilateral engagements. Although Jaishankar's Colombo visit is primarily for BIMSTEC engagements, officials here said he would be taking part in all important bilateral talks with the Sri Lankan leaders.
Besides India and Sri Lanka, the BIMSTEC comprises Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan. The summit is being hosted by Sri Lanka in its capacity as the chair of the grouping BIMSTEC. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend a virtual summit of the grouping on March 30, which is expected to focus on expanding economic engagement.
The summit comes at a time when Sri Lanka is facing its all-time worst foreign exchange crisis after the pandemic hit the island nation's earnings from tourism and remittances. India, since mid-January, has provided economic relief in the form of currency swaps, deferred repayments and dedicated credit lines for the purchase of fuel and essential imports. —