Finance
Nalinda Jayatissa, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Health and Mass Communication, has stated that India plays an important part in her country’s progress toward wealth and wellbeing.
While presenting views from a recent visit to New Delhi by a 24-member high-level delegation of the Sri Lanka-India Parliamentary Friendship Association, Jayatissa, the President of SLIPFA, highlighted the centuries-old historic links between India and Sri Lanka.
According to the Indian High Commission in Colombo, the Minister discussed the experience at a luncheon organized by Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha in honor of the SLIPFA, which was also attended by Sri Lankan Deputy Ministers and various Members of Parliament from different parties.
SLIPFA’s team met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla last month during a visit to the Parliamentary Research and Training Institute for Democracies (PRIDE) at the Lok Sabha Secretariat in Delhi.
During the discussion, Birla emphasized Sri Lanka’s importance in India’s Neighbourhood First policy and MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) vision, and he advocated for increased bilateral exchanges between India and Sri Lanka.
Birla cited recent high-level interactions, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka in April 2025 and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s visit to India in December 2024, as milestones in bilateral relations.
Speaker Birla welcomed the establishment of the India-Sri Lanka Parliamentary Friendship Association in the Sri Lankan Parliament, describing it as a testament to the strength of bilateral relations.
He underlined the importance of institutional cooperation and regular discussion between the two nations’ parliaments in order to share democratic practices and elected representatives’ experiences. He stated that such discussions will help to reinforce democratic values.
Birla emphasized that India and Sri Lanka share a common legacy dating back thousands of years, with deep cultural and people-to-people ties serving as essential pillars of bilateral relations. He emphasized that the expansion of the Ramayana and Buddhist tourist circuits, as well as cultural exchanges and more people-to-people contact, create a solid foundation for these relationships.
Jayatissa commended India for being the first responder to Sri Lanka’s economic crisis. He also lauded India’s role in maintaining peace and security in the Indian Ocean region, citing its health and education cooperation as a lifeline for Sri Lanka.
Source: IANS
