India on Thursday reiterated its firm commitment to partner with Sri Lanka on projects of mutual interest.
“India is keen to strengthen the economic pillar of its relationship with Sri Lanka. There is a lot that can be achieved, given the synergy and economic complementarities,’’ President Ram Nath Kovind said at a meeting with visiting Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Earlier, Wickremesinghe met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed ways to further deepen ties between the two nations.
In the morning, Wickremesinghe attended the Fifth Global Conference on Cyber Space here which was addressed by Modi.
“Neighbourhood first,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted after the meeting between the two leaders at the Hyderabad House. He added that both countries “share strong and close relations based on mutual respect’’.
The spokesperson refused to go into the details of the discussions between the two leaders, saying all relevant issues, including developmental projects, were discussed.
Sri Lanka is one of the major recipients of development credit given by India, with a total commitment of around $2.63 billion, including $458 million as grants.
Indian aid includes development projects in areas like education, health, transport connectivity, small and medium enterprise development and training in many parts of the country through grant funding.