India unveils $450-million reconstruction package for cyclone-hit Sri Lanka

Jaishankar, who arrived in Sri Lanka on Monday as a special envoy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, met President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to discuss reconstruction efforts and handed over a letter from the PM that included a commitment for a package with $350 million in concessional credit lines and $100 million of grants.

“As your closest neighbour and in line with our ‘neighbourhood first’ and Mahasagar policies, it was only natural that India step forward at a time when Sri Lanka faced a crisis. We have done so when you were going through economic difficulties as well,” Jaishankar said at a media interaction alongside his Sri Lankan counterpart Vijitha Herath.

Herath expressed appreciation for the “unprecedented assistance” worth $4 billion, including credit lines for essential goods and petroleum, bilateral currency swaps and deferring of loan repayment, provided by India when Sri Lanka faced an economic crisis during 2022-23.