India – Japan to work together to assist Sri Lanka

May 27, 2022 at 10:46 AM

India and Japan have agreed to work together on assisting crisis-hit Sri Lanka, the Hindu reported.

The Japanese government made the announcement in a statement following a recent meeting between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Fumio Kishida in Tokyo.

Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the two leaders had “discussed the situation in Sri Lanka and had confirmed that they will cooperate with each other in light of the current economic crisis and deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the country.” 

Japan’s announcement of collaborating with India to help Sri Lanka, comes shortly after Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s proposal that Quad members— United States, India, Japan, and Australia — take the lead in setting up a foreign aid consortium to assist Sri Lanka. 

India has extended about $ 3.5 billion in assistance since January this year, by way of loan deferments and credit lines for essential imports. (NewsWire)