High Commission of Sri Lanka in India

High Commissioner Kshenuka Senewiratne,

Ambassadors and Members of Diplomatic Coprs,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Namaste, Ayubowan and Good Evening !

It is an honor and privilege for me to join the celebration of the 76^th anniversary of Independence Day of Sri Lanka.

On behalf of the Government of India and the people of India, I extend warm greetings and felicitations to Your Excellency, the Government and the friendly people of Sri Lanka on this occasion.

Friends,

India and Sri Lanka share strong bond of friendship, partnership and cooperation build on our millennium old cultural bond, shared values and trust.

Sri Lanka is an important neighbour and maritime partner of India and holds a special place in our ‘Neighbourhood First’ Policy and Vision SAGAR i.e. Security and Growth for All in the Region.

India has historically been the 'First Responder' in Sri Lanka. Be it Covid – 19 pandemic, or environmental disasters, India was there with Sri Lanka.

When Sri Lanka was passing through its worst economic crisis in 2022, India swiftly extended an unprecedented support and assistance of USD 4 billion that made an impcat on lives of our Sri Lankan friends.

Besides economic assistance, we have been working closely with Sri Lanka on its economic recovery, through debt restructuring discussions, continuing our developmental partnership programme and bringing in investments for a stable and sustainable economic development of Sri Lanka.

Friends,

The official visit of President of Sri Lanka to India in July 2023 marked a new phase in our bilateral partnership. The Vision document adopted by leaders is guiding us towards building a stronger economic partnership through connectivity.

I am happy to inform that both our governments have made significant progress on the understanding reached during the visits. Commencement of ferry services and resumption of negotiations on Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) are few notable ones.

We are working closely on energy initiatives such as inter-grid connectivity, multi-product pipeline, renewable energy - all aimed at ensuring Sri Lanka’s self-sufficiency in fuel and energy domain.

India and Sri Lanka have strong cooperation in the areas of trade and investment. India continues to be the largest trade partner of Sri Lanka with bilateral trade stood at USD 6 billion in 2022. In recent years, we have also been the largest foreign investor in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is one of the largest recipients of India’s development assistance with an overall commitment of over USD 5 billion. Our cooperation covers a wide canvas from building houses to health, education, development of ports, solar electrification etc,. Our projects cover every single district in Sri Lanka and our developmental partnership is guided by the needs and aspirations of the people of Sri Lanka.

The enduring bond of friendship that India enjoys with Sri Lanka today has chiefly been cultivated through people-to-people interactions. Efforts are underway to further deepen such interactions through capacity building initiatives, cultural exchanges, tourism among others.

Friends,

As Indian economy grows, our neighbours including Sri Lanka stands to benefit. It is our endeavour to share our expertise and experience with partner countries and make them part of our developmental journey.

India and Sri Lanka are natural partners and our interests are inter-linked and intertwined.

I am confident that our partnership will continue to grow in the years ahead, thereby contributing towards a stable and secure economic development of both our countries and the Indian Ocean Region at large.

Long Live India and Sri Lankan friendship!

*****