India hands over more bailey bridges to Sri Lanka to restore connectivity
Colombo, Aug 6
India's Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Maitrey Kulkarni, on Thursday, handed over more bailey bridges to Sri Lanka's Deputy Minister of Co-operative Development Upali Samarasinghe.
These bridges will be installed by engineers of the Indian Army in Sri Lanka, restoring connectivity and supporting infrastructure development.
"The next set of Bailey Bridges, weighing over 250 MT, was handed over today by the Deputy High Commissioner Maitrey Kulkarni to Hon. Upali Samarasinghe, Deputy Minister of Co-operative Development Sri Lanka," the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka posted on X.
"Part of India's USD 450 million reconstruction package, these bridges will be installed across Sri Lanka by Indian Army engineers, restoring connectivity and supporting infrastructure development," it added.
On Wednesday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri reaffirmed India's unwavering commitment to Sri Lanka under India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy and 'Vision MAHASAGAR' during his official visit to the island nation, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated.
During the visit, the Foreign Secretary called on Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Disanayaka, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath. He also held discussions with Foreign Secretary Aruni Ranaraja. Foreign Secretary also met with Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa and had separate meetings with leaders of the Sri Lankan Tamil and Indian Origin Tamil (IOT) community.
During his meetings, both sides undertook a comprehensive review of the ongoing cooperation on bilateral issues and projects between India and Sri Lanka.
Last week, India's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Santosh Jha, said that India's assistance for development projects in Sri Lanka has exceeded USD 7.5 billion, with the projects covering all 25 districts. He made these remarks while chairing a review meeting on India-assisted development projects in the island nation along with Sri Lanka's Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment, Anil Jayantha Fernando.
"With over USD 7.5 billion in assistance, including more than USD 850 million in grants, India's people-oriented projects span all 25 districts of Sri Lanka - transforming housing, healthcare, education, railways, energy, and livelihoods across Sri Lanka," the Indian High Commission in Colombo posted on X.
In December, India had announced a reconstruction package of USD 450 million to Sri Lanka in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah. It covered rehabilitation and restoration of road, railway and bridge connectivity; construction of destroyed and damaged houses; health and education sectors, agriculture and, better disaster response and preparedness.
— IANS
Reader Comments
This is what good diplomacy looks like. Practical help, delivered quickly, by our own army engineers. So proud of India's role in the Indian Ocean region. 🇮🇳🤝🇱🇰
While the gesture is commendable, I wish our government also paid this much attention to infrastructure in our own northeastern states. We need more domestic development, not just foreign aid. But, yes, this is still a good neighbourly move.
It's heartening to see the 'Vision MAHASAGAR' policy taking concrete shape. From cyclone relief to long-term development projects worth $7.5 billion, India is clearly the first responder in the region. Salute to our armed forces for their engineering work abroad!
Good to see India helping Sri Lanka. But I hope we are also mindful of our own strategic interests. China is also active there. We need to ensure these projects create lasting goodwill for India, not just be a one-off handout.
I've seen the Tamil community in Sri Lanka face a lot of hardships. It's nice that our Foreign Secretary took time to meet with them. This shows India cares about all communities there, not just the central government. 🌉
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.