Lanka’s relationship with India has suffered: PM

Sri Lanka’s relationship with India had suffered under the previous Government, but ties were improving now, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said on the sidelines on the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

In an interview with India’s NDTV news channel in Davos, the Prime Minister said Sri Lanka was “friends with everyone.”

He said Colombo has had a good relationship with China and would continue those ties.

“China has certainly become a big investor in Sri Lanka. But that is certainly not at the expense of India. Or at the expense of any other country. We have strong relationships with the West, with Pakistan,” he told the Indian network.

“With India certainly the relationship has suffered,” he noted.

He declined to elaborate on how the relationship was handled on both sides by the previous governments in Colombo and New Delhi. “So we have now got to look at how we have to go ahead. There were times when the two former Governments agreed, there were times they didn’t, but that shouldn’t stand in the way.

Premier Wickremesinghe said Colombo’s relationship with India had improved because there were now relations between the political leaders of both countries, rather than merely the bureaucratic engagement.

“Whenever there are relationships between the political leaders, then relations move closer. That is something we have to sustain,” he said. (DB)