Jaishankar to visit Sri Lanka next week to hold bilateral talks, attend BIMSTEC engagements

Colombo: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will arrive in Sri Lanka next week for bilateral talks and BIMSTEC engagements, the Indian High Commission here said on Saturday.

This will be his first visit to the island nation since India extended an economic relief package to bail Sri Lanka out of the current economic crisis.

“External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar will undertake a visit to #SriLanka for bilateral and #BIMSTEC engagements on 28-30 March,” the India mission here tweeted.

Besides India and Sri Lanka, the BIMSTEC comprises Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.

The summit is being hosted by Sri Lanka in its capacity as the chair of the seven-nation grouping BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation).

India, since mid-January, has provided economic relief in the form of currency swaps, deferred repayments and dedicated credit lines for the purchase of fuel and essential imports.

Jaishankar’s visit is taking place at a time when the public outrage over the Lankan government’s inefficiency in handling the crisis has come out in the open.

People are holding protests and vigils urging immediate solutions to rid them of fuel and gas queues and enduring long hours of power cuts.

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