Assuring that India will always be a “dependable partner and reliable friend” of Sri Lanka, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said the country is open to strengthening its relationship with Colombo on the basis of “mutual trust, mutual interest, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity”.
Speaking at a joint media briefing here with his Sri Lankan counterpart Dinesh Gunawardena, Jaishankar also said that the coronavirus pandemic has not been able to dent the bilateral relationship and that the two countries are now looking at post-COVID cooperation.
“COVID hasn't been able to dent our bilateral cooperation. In fact, high level contacts were maintained and indeed strengthened during the past year and the virtual summit between our prime ministers was a high watermark for us in 2020,” he said.
Jaishankar, who earlier met President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, said he discussed cooperation for post-COVID health and economic recovery. “India will be a reliable partner in Sri Lanka's development,” he said.