Amid the ongoing crisis in Sri Lanka, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida have come together to join hands in an aim to aid the nation’s economic issues.
In the meeting that happened on May 24, on the sidelines of the powerful regional grouping, the ‘Quadrilateral Security Dialogue’ (QSD) meeting, Colombo Gazette reported. Both the leaders formed an agreement Both the countries reached this agreement after the meeting
The Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement, “They also discussed the situation in Sri Lanka and confirmed that they will cooperate with each other in light of the current economic crisis and deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the country.”
The two leaders came to a conclusion in the meeting that it is important for like-minded countries amid challenging international situations to work closely to further promote fruitful actions to realize a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” more than ever.
Based on the outcome of the QUAD Leaders’ Meeting, the two leaders concurred to steadily promote practical cooperation in various fields to deliver concrete benefits to countries in the region, reports ANI.
According to Colombo Gazette, PM Modi and Fumio Kishida acknowledged the signing of the USD 100 million loan facility between the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the Export-Import Bank of India as an outcome of the Quad Vaccine Partnership.
India was helping Sri Lanka to untwine from its economic crunch even before this agreement. India has promoted assistance worth several billion US dollars to rescue the money-strapped Sri Lankan government. The aids were accompanied by shiploads of large quantities of fuel, humanitarian help, cooking gas, and medicinal supplies.
Besides the financial and humanitarian assistance, India also extended USD 15 million to the Sri Lankan Government for promoting Buddhist religious activities, as stated by Sathipattana.