Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabri thanked his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar for visiting the crisis-hit island nation to seek economic relief from the International Monetary Fund. He also lauded the Narendra Modi-led government for its timely support of India.
“We have been in discussion with many countries for the last three to six months, but there was an impasse of sorts and it was at that juncture that India, as always, came to our rescue. As a true neighbor and a good friend, India Reorganized it. So, Lankans are very grateful to India and the government led by Narendra Modi as well as the minister (Jaishankar),” Sabri told CNN-News18.
With China’s influence on the island as Beijing was one of its biggest creditors, Sabri acknowledged growing Indian fears and anxieties. He said that Sri Lanka would never undermine India’s interests or legitimate security concerns, but expressed confidence that after India, China would also support it.
“As a sovereign country, you have to work with all countries. Even in your country, your biggest trading partner is sometimes not the most favourite, but that’s how it works and how the world is developing This does not mean that we are diluting India’s interests and treating it differently. As far as Sri Lanka is concerned, India is the most important relationship.’
He said: “Security is an issue but we will not allow anyone to bully or belittle India’s legitimate concerns. No one has tried to do this. But we understand the Indian sentiment.
Sabri, however, said that it is unfair to depend entirely on just one country. He said that even Jaishankar agreed that India had no problem with other countries legally coming to Sri Lanka, helping and investing in it.
Before the economic crisis hit Sri Lanka and India came forward with up to $4 billion in aid, there was a growing feeling that the neighboring country was neglecting India on many fronts. After deciding to hand over the Hambantota port to China, it also rejected India’s proposal to build Colombo port’s East Container Terminal in favor of a Chinese proposal. But has Sri Lanka done enough to allay Indian apprehensions?
He said, ‘There is a perception, but to be honest, we have always worked closely with Indians. Several projects have come up and many more are in the pipeline – ports are being developed, discussions on renewable energy are on, and these discussions will only take the relationship to the next level; This visit of the Foreign Minister will help in this.
Calling India a “huge neighbour”, Sabri said India is making great strides in its economic progress and this bodes well for Sri Lanka as well as the rest of the region. He said that his country is happy for its neighbor.
“It’s perfectly good for us to have a neighbor – a huge neighbor – doing good. We’ve always advocated that because if you look at it, there’s a growing region together in terms of that – whether it’s North America or Europe, Or the ASEAN countries or the Gulf. So, India is developing, taking big steps in its economic progress, it is good news for Sri Lanka – we are very happy to see that,” he said.
Sabri further said that Jaishankar held talks with a team of cabinet ministers including himself and one-on-one with President Ranil Wickremesinghe – both discussions focused on accelerating investments in the country.
“When you have a relationship, there are ups and downs, but our relationship has been consistently good and there are certainly areas where we have had differences at times,” he said. But overall, as Sri Lankans, we are proud and happy that India is taking a giant leap in its economic advantage.
He also said that as sovereign countries, India and Sri Lanka will always have differences, but this should not stop the two countries from working together.
“Of course, as sovereign countries we will always discuss and have differences, but I am sure we can sit down in a mature manner and help each other. The tone today was that we will work together, resolve differences remove barriers, provide a conducive environment for investment and work together on that basis so that it is mutually beneficial to our people.
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