Sri Lankan Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on 8 July expressed his gratitude to ‘trustworthy friend’ India for saving Sri Lanka and preventing a ‘bloodbath’ during its unprecedented economic crisis last year.
The Indian neighbor was hit by a catastrophic financial crisis in 2022, considered to be the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves.
In 2022, India extended multi-pronged assistance of about $4 billion to Sri Lanka, through multiple credit lines and currency support, in line with India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy.
Abeywardena, while addressing the gala dinner reception hosted for delegates of the Indian Travel Congress on 7 July, said that India ‘saved us’ during the financial crisis, otherwise, there would have been ‘another bloodbath for all of us’.
He thanked India for the help extended to the cash-strapped nation and recalled the civilizational ties and similarities between the two countries and their cultures.
“Sri Lanka and India are very, very closely interconnected countries, culturally, nationally, and policy-wise, and above all, India has been a very close associate and trustworthy friend of Sri Lanka,” Abeywardena said.
“And, even this time, today, I heard that India is willing to extend our restructuring of loans for 12 years. Never expected, and never in history, not a single country has extended that kind of assistance,” he said.
“I must tell you, during the trouble that we had last year, you (India) saved us, India saved us otherwise, there would have been another bloodbath for all of us. So, that is how India came to help us,” Abeywardena added.
Referring to Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Gopal Baglay, the Speaker said, “Your ambassador here, (is a) very close friend of ours. We love and respect him.”
Later, in an interaction with PTI on the sidelines of the reception, Abeywardena said, “India has always come to aid of Sri Lanka” in times of crises, and emphasized the financial assistance given by New Delhi last year when the island nation was mired in the economic turmoil.
“That helped us survive for six months amid the crisis,” he said
“We thank India for the kind gesture, and I also say, thank you, honorable Prime Minister of India (Narendra Modi),” he told PTI.