Colombo: President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday said Sri Lanka needs to engage with neighboring India to take advantage of its huge industrial growth.
“Our neighbor India is undergoing massive industrial development. Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are experiencing this. We should also get involved,” Wickremesinghe said in his address at the Industry 2024 event here.
The President said he looked forward to discussing his talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to India with External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, who is scheduled to arrive here on Thursday.Finance Minister Wickremesinghe said, "Using solar and wind energy and obtaining liquid hydrogen are areas where we hope to work together with India." He said Adani projects in Sri Lanka have furthered these efforts.
Sri Lanka declared bankruptcy in the second quarter of 2022, marking the island's first sovereign default.
Negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout began almost immediately and the first tranche of the US$2.9 billion facility was released in March 2023.
The cash-strapped country has introduced a series of tough reforms to address its economic problems.Despite the pending issue of debt restructuring, three tranches of US$1 billion of the US$2.9 billion bail-out have been materialized subject to reforms.
Wickremesinghe said that with the ongoing talks on debt restructuring, the government is hopeful that it will get time till 2042 to repay it.
He said it was important for Sri Lanka to transform from the current import-oriented economy to an export-oriented economy.
“Since we are an import-oriented economy, we have to find money to import. To become an export-oriented economy, we have to be competitive with our industries to become a production economy,” the President said.The IMF lauded Sri Lanka's recovery efforts, saying the island nation's economy is far from secure unless necessary drastic reforms are pursued.
“Our neighbor India is undergoing massive industrial development. Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are experiencing this. We should also get involved,” Wickremesinghe said in his address at the Industry 2024 event here.
The President said he looked forward to discussing his talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to India with External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, who is scheduled to arrive here on Thursday.Finance Minister Wickremesinghe said, "Using solar and wind energy and obtaining liquid hydrogen are areas where we hope to work together with India." He said Adani projects in Sri Lanka have furthered these efforts.
Sri Lanka declared bankruptcy in the second quarter of 2022, marking the island's first sovereign default.
Negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout began almost immediately and the first tranche of the US$2.9 billion facility was released in March 2023.
The cash-strapped country has introduced a series of tough reforms to address its economic problems.Despite the pending issue of debt restructuring, three tranches of US$1 billion of the US$2.9 billion bail-out have been materialized subject to reforms.
Wickremesinghe said that with the ongoing talks on debt restructuring, the government is hopeful that it will get time till 2042 to repay it.
He said it was important for Sri Lanka to transform from the current import-oriented economy to an export-oriented economy.
“Since we are an import-oriented economy, we have to find money to import. To become an export-oriented economy, we have to be competitive with our industries to become a production economy,” the President said.The IMF lauded Sri Lanka's recovery efforts, saying the island nation's economy is far from secure unless necessary drastic reforms are pursued.
