Sri Lankan president’s India visit signifies strengthening economic and energy relations.

NEW DELHI: On Friday, Sri Lanka and India inked a number of trade, development, and energy agreements, indicating expanding economic relations between the two neighbours.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, the president of Sri Lanka, arrived in New Delhi a day earlier for the official visit. It was his first trip since taking office last year after his predecessor was forced to leave the country due to the country’s economic collapse.

He met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, and the two men presented agreements on technology, renewable energy, and improved connectivity that will strengthen the two countries’ bilateral ties.

According to Wickremesinghe, “my visit to India has given me the chance to review our bilateral relationship, capitalise on the power of our shared geography and civilization, and strengthen trust and confidence in our ability to prosper in the modern world.”

According to Modi, the two leaders agreed on a vision for enhancing their economic cooperation that calls for enhancing the connectedness of their citizens by land, air, and energy as well as speeding their cooperation in areas such as higher education, trade, and tourism.

“The people of Sri Lanka have faced several difficulties during the past year. We support the people of Sri Lanka because they are a close friend, as we always have, Modi stated in his speech.

Relationships between the two countries improved last year as Sri Lanka struggled through its greatest economic crisis in recent memory, which was brought on by a severe foreign currency shortage that caused civilians to queue for days to buy petrol. Last year, it also stopped making payments on its international loans.

In order to bring about the much-needed stability while its bankrupt neighbour battled an outstanding total debt of over $83 billion, of which $41.5 billion was foreign, India supplied its neighbour with essential financial and humanitarian help of over $4 billion, including food, medicine, and fuel.

It was also the first creditor to offer a letter of support for Sri Lanka’s efforts to restructure its debt, which sparked assistance from the IMF, which in March authorised a $3 billion bailout package.