Sri Lankan Finance Minister Basil Rajapksa on Wednesday met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi as the two nations are expected to sign an agreement on a $1 billion line of credit. This is Basil's second visit to India in the last four months amid the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka. 

During his meeting with Modi, Basil, who is on a two-day visit to India, discussed “a wide range of issues pertaining to the bilateral relationship, including in the areas of agriculture, renewable energy, digitalization, tourism, and fisheries among others, according to a statement issued by the Sri Lankan High Commission in New Delhi.

“Finance Minister Rajapaksa thanked Prime Minister Modi for all the assistance that India has provided to Sri Lanka at this critical time. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi assured the Minister that India would always stand with Sri Lanka, a close friend.” read the statement.

The visit comes at a time when Sri Lanka has been facing a crippling economic crisis and energy, primarily caused by the severe shortage of foreign exchange. The two countries have been holding talks on a $1 billion line of credit for the last three months. 

So far, India has extended assistance worth $1.4 billion, including a $500 million line of credit for the purchase of fuel.   
 
During his earlier visit in December last year, the two countries agreed on a “four-pronged” strategy to address the country’s economic crisis, where New Delhi assured Sri Lanka to offer assistance to cover the imports of food, medicine, essentials, and fuel.

Significantly, in his meeting with Modi, Basil also raised the fishing issues that has caused bad blood between the two countries and resulted in the detention of rival fishermen by both sides. 

The two countries “recognized its complex and multidimensional aspects including humane treatment of fishermen, livelihood, enforcement, ecology of the ocean, early release of arrested fishermen and their boats, etc.”  

“The two dignitaries also agreed on the urgent need to find a lasting solution to this complex issue,” said the statement. Later, the Sri Lankan minister also met Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and discussed bilateral issues. 

Amid the shortage of essentials and fuel, and electricity in Sri Lanka, anger against Rajapaksa's government has been mounting. On Tuesday, thousands of people marched to the President's Office, protesting against the government's mishandling of the situation. 

(SAM)