Sri Lankan Speaker Abeywardena thanks India for its assistance during the economic crisis by saying, “You saved us”

Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, the speaker of Sri Lanka’s parliament, praised India on Friday for providing the island country with financial aid while it struggled through an unprecedented economic crisis last year, calling New Delhi a “close associate” and a “trusted friend” of Colombo.

Due to a serious lack of foreign currency reserves, Sri Lanka experienced a devastating financial crisis in 2022—the worst since it gained independence from Britain in 1948. According to its Neighborhood First policy, India provided the struggling nation with multifaceted aid totaling roughly USD 4 billion last year, including several credit lines and monetary support.

Abeywardena said that India “saved us” during the financial crisis and that without India, there would have been “another bloodbath for all of us” during his speech at the gala dinner reception held for the Indian Travel Congress members here. At the evening event, the Speaker praised India for the assistance provided to the money-strapped country and highlighted the historical links and cultural parallels between the two nations.

India has been a very close partner and trustworthy friend of Sri Lanka, according to Abeywardena, who also noted that when “we were in trouble,” India always helped out. “Sri Lanka and India are very, very closely interconnected countries, culturally, nationally, and policy-wise,” Abeywardena added.

“And even now, today, I learned that India is open to extending our debt restructuring by 12 years. Never anticipated, and no nation has ever in history given that level of support,” he remarked. He remembered India’s assistance given to Sri Lanka during the unrest last year, which wrecked the country’s economy and caused it to enter a financial crisis.

“I must admit that India rescued us during the difficulties we had last year. Without India, there would have been another carnage for all of us. Therefore, that is how India came to our rescue, stated Abeywardena.

In the presence of Gopal Baglay, the Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Harin Fernando, the Minister of Tourism and Lands of Sri Lanka, as well as other top government officials, he made the statements.”This is your ambassador, a very good friend of ours. We cherish and honor him,” the Speaker remarked of Baglay.

Abeywardena said that “it shows we are genetically connected to India” in reference to the similarities between the Sri Lankan surname Singh and the Indian surname Singh.

In this sense, India won’t be a foreign nation to us. The speaker said, “We are here to receive you, respect you, and join with you. It’s part of the ethos of our country, part of our life, and part of our heart.” The Speaker said, “With great confidence and without any difficulty, we (Sri Lanka) can join with you (India).”

In his speech, Fernando promoted Sri Lanka, the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean,” as a special vacation spot for people in India and the rest of the globe, claiming that “one island nation offers so many different tourist experiences, without travelling far from one location to another.”