India and Sri Lanka agreed to a four-pronged approach to discuss initiatives on food and energy security to help mitigate Sri Lanka’s economic crisis, during a two-day visit by Sri Lankan Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa to New Delhi, The Hindu Newspaper reported.
The decisions included a four-pillar initiative, comprising lines of credit for food, medicines and fuel purchases granted by India, a currency swap agreement to deal with Sri lanka’s balance of payment issues, an “early” modernisation project of the Trinco oil farms that India has been pursuing for several years, and a Sri Lankan commitment to facilitate Indian investments in various sectors, The Newspaper report added
“It was agreed that modalities to realise these objectives would be finalised early, within a mutually agreed timeline,” said a Sri Lankan High Commission statement issued at the end of the visit by Mr. Rajapaksa, who met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in an unusual “joint meeting” on Wednesday. It was also attended by Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda and Finance Secretary S.R. Attygalle.
India’s External Affairs Minister Jaishankar will meet Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Saturday in Abu Dhabi when they will inaugurate the Indian Ocean Region Conference organised by the India Foundation. (The Hindu)