Colombo: Sri Lanka’s PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Friday as he thanked India and Japan over the move to set up a foreign aid consortium.
The seasoned leader, who recently took charge as Sri Lanka PM for the sixth time, also said he spoke to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and “expressed our country’s appreciation for the support India has extended during this difficult period”.
In a series of tweets, the 73-year-old leader also underlined that the South Asian nation – in the midst of the worst-ever economic crisis – is also looking to fast-track talks with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and finalise an arrangement by mid-June to “find concrete solutions to problems we’re facing.”
I had a conversation with India's Minister of Finance @nsitharaman today. I expressed our country's appreciation for the support India has extended during this difficult period. I look forward to further strengthening ties between our nations.
— Ranil Wickremesinghe (@RW_SRILANKA) May 27, 2022
“Assistance from India and Japan: I am grateful for the positive response from India and Japan on the proposal made for the Quad members (United States, India, Japan, and Australia) to take the lead in setting up a foreign aid consortium to assist Sri Lanka,” one of his posts read. “I had a conversation with India’s Minister of Finance @nsitharaman today. I expressed our country’s appreciation for the support India has extended during this difficult period. I look forward to further strengthening ties between our nations (sic),” the Sri Lanka PM wrote in another post.
4. Banking Sector: I met with Central Bank officials and a number of local and foreign bankers this week. We discussed the high risk of rising international interest rates and severe danger of worldwide increase of food prices observed at this moment.
— Ranil Wickremesinghe (@RW_SRILANKA) May 27, 2022
The Quad leader’s summit was held this week where leaders of four nations – Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US president Joe Biden, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, and Australian PM Anthony Albanese – met and discussed issues related to the Indo-Pacific issues apart from the Ukraine war and other global matters.
On the sidelines of the summit, India and Japan agreed to work together on assisting crisis-hit Sri Lanka, the Japanese government said, after the meeting between PM Modi and Kishida.
