Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay on Tuesday said that India is following the policy of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’ when it comes to supporting Sri Lanka. “Sri Lanka has a central place in our neighborhood policy and we have always stood by its people,” Baglay said.
In an exclusive interview with India Today, Baglay said that India helped Sri Lanka by providing essential commodities and support for its foreign exchange reserves.
India’s support for Sri Lanka
Speaking about the kind of aid India has provided to Sri Lanka, Baglay said the government sought two types of help – the first was support for essential supplies and the second was support for its foreign exchange reserves. Baglay said that India has so far supplied essential commodities worth USD 1.5 billion to Sri Lanka. Of this, a line of credit of US$ 500 million was exclusively for fuel.
Baglay said India also helped Sri Lanka in the supply of fertilizers.
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“As for currency support, we provided currency swaps and deferred settlements worth approximately USD 1.9 to 2 billion as of 6 July under the Asian Clearing Association,” the High Commissioner said.
Baglay said Sri Lanka is also in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a suitable program to help ease its economic crisis. He said that India will continue to provide support and would like to build its capacity so that it can help beyond short-term support of essential commodities.
India on Sri Lanka’s political crisis
Bagley repeated India’s earlier statement On the political crisis in Sri Lanka and said that he strongly supports democracy, stability and economic recovery in the country. He said that he met Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abhaywardene and told him personally about it.
Asked what is the current political situation for the Tamils issue in Sri Lanka, Baglay said India’s position has been clear and consistent in fully implementing the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution. (The 13th Amendment states that Tamil will be one of the official languages of Sri Lanka and that provincial councils will be established throughout the country.)
However, he said that the current situation has no direct connection with the Tamils issue in the country.
Baglay said the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka is in touch with Indians living in or visiting the country and that there have been no reports of serious incidents during the recent protests.
What is happening in Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanka is going through one of the worst economic crises in its history. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as caretaker president after he fled the country following massive protests demanding the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The election of the new president will be held on Wednesday, July 20.
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