New Delhi, Nov 4 (IANS) NITI Aayog hosted a distinguished delegation from Sri Lanka, led by Leader of Opposition, Sajith Premadasa, here on Tuesday.

In his opening remarks, Premadasa commended India’s transformative journey in the past 11 years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and expressed his interest in understanding the NITI Aayog’s role as a policy think tank to bridge long-term policy design with on-ground implementation.

NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman K. Bery provided an overview of India’s economic transformation with a focused discussion on fostering deeper collaboration between the two countries and sharing insights on India’s policy process and transformative initiatives in the sectors of infrastructure and economic cooperation.

The Vice Chairman concluded the meeting by stressing NITI Aayog’s continued commitment to enhancing regional cooperation and advancing shared development goals with Sri Lanka in the spirit of good neighbourliness and mutual growth as agreed between the two governments through official channels.

India is Sri Lanka’s largest trading partner and was one of the first countries with which Sri Lanka signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Recently, a high-level Sri Lankan delegation led by Minister of Trade Wasantha Samarasinghe visited India.

Samarasinghe said that while Sri Lanka imports many consumer goods from India, the country has also provided significant support to Sri Lanka during difficult times. He said that the island nation was working to address the trade imbalance by utilising provisions in the existing trade agreement to increase Sri Lankan exports to India. Sri Lanka has plans to increase shipments of garments, textiles, tea, and other products to the Indian market.

India is Sri Lanka’s largest trade partner. According to the Department of Commerce, the merchandise trade between India and Sri Lanka reached $5.5 billion in FY 2023-24, with India’s exports amounting to $4.1 billion while Sri Lanka’s exports reached $1.4 billion. Bilateral trade was also supported by various Lines of Credit and a Credit facility for the procurement of essential items.

India is also one of the largest contributors to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Sri Lanka, with a cumulative figure of approx $2.2 billion till 2023. The main investments from India are in the areas of energy, hospitality, real estate, manufacturing, telecommunication, banking and financial services. Going forward, the priority areas would be to expedite important projects in crucial sectors such as energy, ports & shipping, renewable energy and defence supplies, according to an official statement.

–IANS

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