Indian FM Strengthens India-Sri Lanka Ties with New Initiatives

India's Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, led a delegation visit to Sri Lanka, aiming to bolster economic ties and cultivate partnerships across various sectors. During her trip, she engaged in significant dialogues with Sri Lanka's President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.

As the Guest of Honour at the 'Naam 200' event, celebrating the 200-year legacy of the Indian-origin Tamil community in Sri Lanka, Sitharaman inaugurated the India-Sri Lanka Business Summit, reinforcing bilateral economic collaborations.

Throughout her visit, Sitharaman visited prominent temples and exchanged bilateral documents with the President, initiating projects backed by a substantial US$15 million grant, focusing on strengthening Buddhist relations between the two countries.

Highlighting India's commitment to education and progress, Nirmala Sitharaman announced the deployment of STEM subject trainers in Sri Lanka's plantation regions, part of a comprehensive US$3 billion multi-sectoral package for the Indian-origin Tamil community. The initiative includes provisions for solar lanterns, stitching units, and educational materials.

Sitharaman actively launched several educational programs, distributing notebooks, school bags, and RO plants to address drinking water challenges in select schools. Her virtual inauguration of Phase-4 of the Indian Housing Project was a significant milestone, adding 10,000 houses for plantation workers. Additionally, she unveiled an enhanced Thondaman Vocational Training Centre designed to impart employable skills to the youth.

The primary objective of this visit was to strengthen economic ties between India and Sri Lanka, emphasizing mutually beneficial investment opportunities and fostering sustainable partnerships across diverse sectors.

Emphasizing Sitharaman's prior contributions, her role in supporting Sri Lanka during the 2022 IMF meetings and her pivotal efforts in expediting a US$4 billion support package from India to Sri Lanka were highlighted, underscoring her crucial role in fortifying the two nations' ties.