The cyclone killed more than 640 people last month when it hit the South Asian island, causing floods and landslides that caused about $4 billion in damage, or four percent of the country’s GDP, according to the World Bank.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake described the storm, which affected more than two million people, 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 Dissanayake a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pledging a “$450 million reconstruction package”.
While $350 million will be in the form of “soft credit lines,” the remaining $100 million will be provided as grants.
Jaishankar also mentioned the 1,100 tonnes of humanitarian aid, along with medicines and other essential equipment, sent to India’s southern neighbor in the immediate aftermath of the cyclone.
“Given the extent of the damage, restoring connectivity was clearly an immediate priority,” he said, detailing the Indian Army’s assistance in securing portable bridges.
Jaishankar said India will also look at other ways to mitigate the losses, including boosting Indian tourism in Sri Lanka.
– Similarly, increasing foreign direct investment from India can boost your economy at a critical time – he added.
The cyclone struck as Sri Lanka was reeling from its worst economic collapse in 2022, when it ran out of foreign exchange reserves to pay for essential imports such as food, fuel and medicine.
After an aid package of 2.9 billion dollars from the International Monetary Fund was approved at the beginning of 2023, the country’s economy stabilized, reports AFP.
(Vijesti.ba / FENA)
