India Working on Economic Package to Aid Sri Lanka

India is working on an urgent package of assistance for Sri Lanka to help the country out of an economic crisis.

The Economic Times quoting sources said the measures will cover areas including food and health security, energy security, and a currency swap.

The plan is to extend credit lines for Sri Lanka to import food, medicine, fuel, and other essential items from India.

Finance Minister Rajapaksa briefed the Indian side of the economic situation in Sri Lanka and his Government’s approach to addressing post-covid challenges. The Indian Ministers expressed India’s solidarity with Sri Lanka at this juncture. They reiterated that India has always stood by Sri Lanka and in the current situation would be guided by its Neighbourhood First policy.

The two sides discussed four pillars for short and medium-term cooperation in this regard:

i)Food and health security package on an urgent basis that would envisage an extension of a line of credit to cover the import of food, medicines, and other essential items from India to Sri Lanka.

ii)Energy security package that would include a line of credit to cover the import of fuel from India and an early modernization of Trincomalee Tank Farm.

iii)Offer a Currency Swap to help Sri Lanka address the current balance of payment issues.

iv)Facilitating Indian investments in different sectors in Sri Lanka that would contribute to the growth and expand employment. This will build on recent trends in that respect.