NEW DELHI: Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake vowed to bolster ties with India Monday on his first overseas visit as head of state, with a red carpet welcome by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Leaders of the island nation typically make their first visit to regional powerhouse India, which competes with China for influence in the Indian Ocean. Leftist Dissanayake, who came to power in September on a pledge to fight corruption, said the ties between the nations held a “significant place” in their foreign policy, adding that Modi had “assured us of full support”.

Modi said he was “happy” that India was Dissanayake’s first foreign visit, saying after their meeting it would “add new energy and speed” to ties. New Delhi has been concerned about Beijing’s growing hold in Sri Lanka, and gave Dissanayake a warm welcome with a military honor guard parade at the presidential palace. New Delhi is a key trading partner for Colombo - Indian exports totaled $4.1 billion to Sri Lanka, versus $1.4 billion in reverse - and is pushing infrastructure projects. But China is Sri Lanka’s largest bilateral lender. Dissanayake is expected to travel to Beijing for talks with Chinese leaders in early 2025.

Sri Lanka suffered its worst financial crisis in 2022 when it ran out of foreign exchange to pay for essential imports such as food, fuel and medicines, and defaulted on its $46 billion foreign debt. “We faced an unprecedented economic crisis two years ago and India supported us immensely to come out of that quagmire,” Dissanayake added.

Dissanayake said he had held “productive discussions” with India’s finance and foreign ministers, as well as national security adviser Ajit Doval. “Our conversations focused on strengthening Indo-Sri Lanka economic cooperation, enhancing investment opportunities, fostering regional security, and advancing key sectors such as tourism and energy,” Dissanayake said in a statement. “These engagements reaffirm the commitment to deepening the partnership between our two nations.” Sri Lanka sits astride the world’s busiest shipping route, which links the Middle East and East Asia, giving its maritime assets strategic importance. 

Days before Dissanayake’s visit, Sri Lanka said that Indian conglomerate Adani Group’s port project in Colombo will go ahead despite US charges against its founder and sudden changes to its financing. A November bombshell indictment in New York accused billionaire tycoon Gautam Adani and several colleagues of deliberately misleading international investors as part of a bribery scheme. The charges, roundly denied, sent Adani stocks into freefall and raised fresh questions over corporate governance at the family firm, whose founder is considered a close Modi ally. - AFP