India to provide USD 450M for reconstruction in Sri Lanka – Jaishankar

Indian Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar says India will provide USD 450 million to help rebuild areas damaged in Sri Lanka by Cyclone Ditwah. 

The visiting Indian Minister said that this will include Rs. 350 million in concessional lines of credit and USD 100 million in grants. 

Revealing details of the discussion with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake this morning, he said a detailed discussion was held on the damage caused by Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka.

“The letter from PM Narendra Modi builds on our first responder role and commits a reconstruction package of USD 450 million to Sri Lanka. Our talks centred around how expeditiously this commitment can be delivered,” he said. 

Minister Jaishankar further said that as Sri Lanka’s closest neighbour, it was only natural that India stepped forward at a time when Sri Lanka faced a crisis, similar to the economic crisis. 

He made the remarks during a joint media briefing with Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath in Colombo today. 

(Newswire)