India to encourage greater investments in Sri Lanka's economy: EAM Jaishankar

India will encourage greater investments in Sri Lankas economy especially in areas of energy tourism and infrastructure External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday as he expressed Indias solidarity with the debtridden Island nation during its difficult momentsJaishankar who is here on a twoday visit called on President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday morningMy primary purpose to visit Colombo is to express Indias solidarity with Sri Lanka during these difficult moments Jaishankar said in a press statementWeve had a very good discussion that follows up on my meetings with my counterpart and other Sri Lankan ministers yesterday Thursday evening he saidIndia has extended about USD 4 billion in terms of credits and rollovers to help Sri Lanka get through an economic crisisFor us it was an issue of the neighbourhood first and not leaving a partner to fend for themselves Jaishankar saidAlso Read Recruitment process under our govt more streamlined transparent PM ModiIndia felt strongly that Sri Lankas creditors must take proactive steps to facilitate its recovery he saidIndia decided not to wait on others but to do what we believe is right We extended financing assurances to the IMF to clear the way for Sri Lanka to move forward he addedWe extended financing assurances to the IMF to clear the way for Sri Lanka to move forward Our expectation is that this will not only strengthen Sri Lankas position but ensure that all bilateral creditors are dealt with equally he addedSri Lanka which is trying to secure a USD 29 billion bridge loan from the International Monetary Fund IMF was negotiating to get financial assurances from its major creditors China Japan and India which is the requisite for Colombo to get the bailout packageThe IMF bailout has been put on a halt as Sri Lanka pursues talks with creditors to meet the global lenders condition for the facilitySri Lankas pathway is one of a strong economic recovery propelled by greater investments Here too I have a clear message that I will be sharing with the business community Jaishankar saidIndia will encourage greater investments in the Sri Lankan economy especially in core areas like energy tourism and infrastructure We count on the government of Sri Lanka to provide a more businessfriendly environment to create a powerful pull factorHe said energy security is today one of Sri Lankas most serious challengesSri Lanka has enormous renewable energy potential that can become a sustainable source of revenue Jaishankar said adding that Trincomalee has the capability to emerge as an energy hubIn its support for Sri Lanka India has prepared to be a reliable partner on such initiatives We have today agreed in principle on a renewable energy framework that will take this cooperation forward he saidCalling tourism the lifeblood of the Sri Lankan economy he said Indian tourists are expressing their positive sentiments for Sri Lanka in a very very practical manner by coming hereIndia has always supported both the political and economic stability of Sri Lanka Jaishankar saidHe said President Wickremesinghe briefed him on the question of political devolutionI shared with him our considered view that the full implementation of the 13th Amendment and early conduct of provincial elections are criticalDurable efforts towards reconciliation are in the interests of all sections in Sri Lanka I also spoke of the need to pay special attention to the requirements of the Indianorigin Tamil community he saidIndia has been pressing Sri Lanka to implement the 13th Amendment which was brought in after the IndoSri Lankan agreement of 1987 The 13A provides for the devolution of power to the Tamil communityHe also handed over Prime Minister Narendra Modis invitation to President Wickremesinghe to visit India at an early date to discuss how our partnership can facilitate Sri Lankas strong recoveryThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever