Colombo [Sri Lanka], July 21 (ANI): As Sri Lanka continues to suffer the blow of a poor economy and political turmoil, India's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Gopal Baglay said that India will continue to assist the people of the island nation and contribute to the country through investments.

"The type of assistance and support India has rendered to Sri Lanka, it hasn't rendered to any other country ever to the best of my understanding. We'll continue to be supportive of the requirements of the people of Sri Lanka," India's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka told ANI.

Regarding Gotabaya Rajapaksa fleeing Sri Lanka and "rumours" of India's help in that, Gopal Baglay clarified, "These rumours are completely baseless. A decision that then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa took was his own. We have nothing to do with that decision or its implementation."

Speaking on the ongoing crisis in Sri Lanka, he said that India would like to contribute through way of investment and assist Sri Lanka in building more capacity so that the island nation can find a quick way to economic recovery.

He further stated that the type of assistance and support India has rendered to Sri Lanka has not been rendered to any other country.

India has always stood with the people of Sri Lanka, he said, adding that Sri Lanka is our closest friend, and partner which is why it has been an endeavour for India to come to Sri Lanka's aid when help was requested with great urgency.

About 700 million dollars worth of fuel supplies have been sent to India from Sri Lanka and the commercial supplies are also continuing, he said.

Sri Lanka's multiple crises have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic which saw the collapse of the crucial tourism industry, which provides foreign currency for imported fuel and medical supplies, and rocked by the supply chain crisis precipitated by the Ukraine war.

The economic crisis in the island nation has pushed families into hunger and poverty - some for the first time - adding to the half a million people who the World Bank estimates have fallen below the poverty line because of the pandemic.

This economic crisis has also led to a political crisis, with people expressing their frustration against the government, which led to president Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigning from his post.

In the wake of record food price inflation, skyrocketing fuel costs and widespread commodity shortages, some 61 per cent of households are regularly using coping strategies to cut down on costs, such as reducing the amount they eat and consuming increasingly less nutritious meals.

Amidst the crisis in Sri Lanka, India has extended this year alone support of over USD 3.8 billion for ameliorating the serious economic situation in the island nation as a mark of its Neighbourhood First policy. India continues to follow closely the recent developments in Sri Lanka. (ANI)

Source: WORLD