Colombo, June 22 : Three Indian government representatives will visit Sri Lanka on Thursday to discuss future economic aid to the island nation, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe announced on Wednesday.
Media reports said the Indian delegation will be led by Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran.
The Prime Minister told Parliament that Sri Lanka has accessed $4 billion via the Indian Credit Line and has requested for more from India.
“India cannot do this forever, and they too have their limits,” he said, adding that Colombo must have a way to pay back the loans.
He said the only safe option for Sri Lanka to overcome the country’s worst economic crisis was to engage with the International Monetary Fund.
The Daily Mirror reported that the Indian delegation will stay in the country only for three hours and hold talks with both President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe.
The visit follows meetings held by Sri Lanka’s envoy in New Delhi, Milinda Moragoda, with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on June 20.
India is currently in the process of finalising another credit line of $500 million for Sri Lanka to purchase oil.
The Prime Minister told Parliament that a delegation from the US Treasury will also visit Sri Lanka for discussions.
Sri Lanka is undergoing its worst ever economic crisis which has triggered shortages of essential goods including food, medicines and fuel due to want of foreign exchange for imports.
