INDIA will provide $450 million in assistance to Sri Lanka to support recovery efforts after Cyclone Ditwah, foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Tuesday during a visit to the island nation.
The cyclone killed more than 640 people last month after sweeping across Sri Lanka, triggering floods and landslides. The World Bank has estimated the damage at about $4 billion, or 4 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has said the storm affected more than two million people and described it as the most challenging natural disaster in the island’s history.
Jaishankar, who is on a two-day visit, told a media briefing in Colombo that he had handed over a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi committing India to a “reconstruction package of $450 million”.
Of this, $350 million will be extended through “concessional lines of credit”, while $100 million will be provided as grants.
Jaishankar said India had already sent 1,100 tonnes of relief material, including medicines and other equipment, in the immediate aftermath of the cyclone.
“Given the scale of damage, restoring connectivity was clearly an immediate priority,” he said, referring to the Indian military’s role in supplying portable bridges.
He said India would also explore other measures to help reduce Sri Lanka’s losses, including encouraging Indian tourism.
“Similarly, an increase in foreign direct investment from India can boost your economy at a critical time,” he added.
The cyclone struck as Sri Lanka was emerging from its worst economic crisis in 2022, when it ran out of foreign exchange reserves to pay for essential imports such as food, fuel and medicines.
After a $2.9 billion bailout approved by the International Monetary Fund in early 2023, the country’s economy has stabilised.
