PM Modi speaks to Sri Lankan President, offers support in COVID-19 fight

New Delhi: With no end to the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic in sight, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday spoke to Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The two leaders had a telephonic conversation in which they discussed the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as well as its likely health and economic impacts in the region.

While PM Modi assured President Rajapaksa that India would continue to provide all possible support to Sri Lanka for mitigating the effects of the virus, both the leaders also agreed on the need to accelerate Indian-assisted development projects in the island nation.

Additionally, they also discussed the possibilities of promoting investments and value-addition in Sri Lanka by the Indian private sector.

Notably, while India has more than 1.2 lakh cases of coronavirus, Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 tally stands at 1,068.

The Prime Minister’s telephonic conversation with the Sri Lankan President also assumes significance in the backdrop of India’s ongoing tensions with three of its neighbours-Pakistan, China and Nepal. While tension with Pakistan escalated in the wake of the Handwara encounter earlier this month, China has shown its aggression in both Sikkim and Ladakh, prompting a visit to Ladakh by Army Chief General MM Naravane.

The tension with Nepal, meanwhile, is over its government including in its political map, parts of Indian territory; these parts, Nepal claims, actually lie within its territory.