Sri Lankan president to visit India, may seek financial support
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe is set to visit India on July 21 for the first time since the country's political chaos and economic crisis last year. The visit comes amid the stabilization of the economic and political situation of the country. He will likely hold talks with PM Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu to boost economic ties and seek financial support, too.
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Wickremesinghe's visit to India will be crucial in many respects, as it will strive to strengthen bilateral ties while also seeking assistance to combat the economic crisis. Sri Lanka also hopes to capitalize on its visit during India's presidency of G20. Notably, India has already provided about $3.5 billion in emergency aid to the island country last year in order to resolve the issues.
Wickremesinghe seeks meetings with Union ministers, NSA Ajit Doval
Although there is no official announcement of the visit yet, reports confirmed Wickremesinghe's plan. His India visit would reportedly last two-three days, and he has sought individual meetings with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, The Print reported citing Sri Lankan government sources. The official visit to India was reportedly finalized earlier this week.
Wickremesinghe may visit China later this year
India will be the seventh country visited by Wickremesinghe since he was sworn into power last July after the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Egypt, Singapore, and Japan. He may visit France later this month and China in October. Notably, Nikkei's Future of Asia Conference in Tokyo last month, the Sri Lankan president called for open dialogue between Japan, China, India, and the ASEAN nations.
Sri Lanka's ties with India's rival China
According to Hindustan Times, President Wickremesinghe may travel to China in October to attend a Belt-Road Initiative conference and meet President Xi Jinping. To recall, Wickremesinghe, as the PM in 2017, gave the Hambantota deep seaport on lease to China for 99 years. The project triggered speculations that China may use it for military purposes against India. However, Sri Lanka assured India against it.
Sri Lanka remains net indebted country
Sri Lanka remains a net debtor country, with significant foreign liabilities and depleted assets. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that Sri Lanka's net foreign obligations climbed to 74% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2022. It suggests that the country's economic condition would take time to improve, as the IMF's second loan tranche is due at the end of this year.
