Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Sri Lankan Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on Friday expressed deep gratitude to India, calling it a “trustworthy friend” which saved the island nation and prevented a “bloodbath” during its unprecedented economic crisis in 2022.
He said that not a single nation extended that kind of assistance to Colombo as New Delhi did.
Addressing a dinner reception hosted for delegates of the Indian Travel Congress in Colombo, Abeywardena said India “saved us” during the financial crisis, without which Sri Lanka would have faced “another bloodbath.”
He made the remarks in the presence of the Indian High Commissioner to Colombo, Gopal Baglay, Sri Lanka’s Tourism and Lands Minister Harin Fernando, and other senior officials of the government.
“Your ambassador here, (he is a) very close friend of ours. We love and respect him,” the Speaker said.
Sri Lanka was hit by a catastrophic financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, because of a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves, and the collapse of the tourism sector, a key revenue generator, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As the island country struggled amid economic crisis and political upheaval, India extended multi-pronged assistance of nearly USD 4 billion to it last year, through multiple credit lines and currency support, in line with India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy.
The Speaker thanked India for the timely help extended to the cash-strapped nation and recalled the civilizational ties and similarities between the two countries and their cultures.
“Sri Lanka and India are very, very closely interconnected countries, culturally, nationally, and policy-wise, and above all, India has been a very close associate and trustworthy friend of Sri Lanka,” Abeywardena said, adding that when “we were in trouble, India always helped out.”
“And, even today, I heard that India is willing to extend our restructuring of loans for 12 years. Never expected, and never in history, not a single country has extended that kind of assistance,” he said.
India’s help saved Sri Lanka survive for six months in the midst of the crisis,” the media quoted him as saying. “We thank India for the kind gesture, and I also say, thank you, Honorable Prime Minister of India (Narendra Modi).”
Noting the similarity between the Indian surname Singh and the Sri Lankan surname Singhe, Abeywardena said, “It shows we are genetically connected to India.”
“That way, India is not a new country to us. It’s part of the ethos of our country, part of our life, part of our heart,” he said, adding, “We are here to receive you, respect you, join with you.”
“Together, we (Sri Lanka) can join with you (India), without any difficulty or hesitation, with great trust,” the Speaker said.
Tourism and Lands Minister Fernando pitched Sri Lanka, known as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean, as a unique destination for India and the rest of the world, saying, “One island nation offers so many different tourist experiences, without traveling far from one location to another.”
On Saturday, several sessions were held as part of the three-day 67th Convention of the TAAI (Travel Agents Association of India) which began in Colombo on July 6. It is being held with the support of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) and the Sri Lankan Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO).