India on Sunday vowed to stand with the people of Sri Lanka, even as the political crisis continued in the neighbouring island nation, where protests by thousands of people finally forced President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to agree to resign.
New Delhi, however, stressed on sticking to democratic means in Sri Lanka.
India is closely monitoring the situation in Sri Lanka, where a severe economic crisis has triggered unrest with the protesters storming into the presidential palace and setting ablaze the official residence of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Both Gotabaya and Wickremesinghe are expected to resign soon.
“We continue to closely follow the recent developments in Sri Lanka,” Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said in New Delhi.
“India stands with the people of Sri Lanka as they seek to realize their aspirations for prosperity and progress through democratic means and values as well as established institutions and constitutional framework," he added.
New Delhi has been extending assistance to Sri Lanka ever since the Indian Ocean island plunged into an economic crisis. “India has extended this year itself an unprecedented support of over $ 3.8 billion for ameliorating the serious economic situation in Sri Lanka,” said Bagchi.
Gopal Baglay, the High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka, had a meeting with the neighbouring country’s agriculture minister Mahinda Amaraweera and formally handed over to him 44000 MT of urea New Delhi sent under a Line of Credit to help the farmers of the cash-strapped nation.
“Various sections, diverse demands: one partner -India High Commissioner met the Hon'ble Agriculture Minister and informed him about the arrival of more than 44,000 MT of urea supplied under a credit line extended by India to Sri Lanka,” the High Commission of India in Colombo tweeted.
He stressed that the latest assistance by India symbolises India’s continued commitment to support the people of Sri Lanka, the farmers of the nation, and bolster the efforts for food security of the country's citizens.
“We are aware of the many challenges that Sri Lanka and its people have been facing, and we have stood with the Sri Lankan people as they have tried to overcome this difficult period,” Bagchi said in New Delhi.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told journalists in Thiruvananthapuram that India had been very supportive of Sri Lanka.
“We are trying to help. We are always very helpful when they (Sri Lankans) are concerned. They are right now working through their problems, so we have to wait and see what they do,” he said.