Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabri on Saturday said his country’s ties with India are “one of the most important in our foreign policy”. As the island nation works to extricate itself from an unprecedented economic crisis, the official also appreciated India’s role in helping Sri Lanka deal with the situation. He also highlighted his government’s plans to work closely with New Delhi to promote economic reform.
During an interview with Hindustan Times he asserted, “We will not allow any country to do anything that is detrimental to India’s national security to make Sri Lanka a hub or a region.” Chinese ship visits Hambantota port
Sabri also touched on the proposal to settle payments in national currencies.
“We want to integrate and possibly allow the Indian currency to be a tradable currency in Sri Lanka… you did [something similar] With Singapore and we probably want to do that. We understand the potential of India with 300 million to 400 million Indians traveling. So right around the corner, come and use your currency,” he told the publication.
Read also: Families give less food to children: Sri Lanka’s hunger crisis deepens
Earlier on Saturday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held bilateral meetings with his Sri Lankan counterpart as the latter participated in the Raisina Dialogue.
“Nice to meet FM Ali Sabri of Sri Lanka. Thank you for his participation in Raisina Dialogue 2023. We took stock of our cooperation which is focused on facilitating Sri Lanka’s economic recovery. Discussions included investment, trade and development partnership Also raised the issue raised recently. Issues relating to our fishermen,” the external affairs minister tweeted.
(with inputs from agencies)
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