Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda attended a closed-door panel discussion organized by the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), New Delhi on Wednesday (July 26), as the lead speaker. The discussion was themed ‘Economic Recovery of Sri Lanka & Visit of the President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe to India’.

In his opening remarks, the high commissioner stated that the Sri Lankan leaders thanked the Indian Prime Minister and his government for the financial assistance rendered during the recent economic crisis which served as the lifeline towards laying the critical initial steps towards economic stabilization.

He also stated that the future India-Sri Lanka cooperation would mainly focus on connectivity and investment which will be founded on a vibrant economic integration strategy.

Moragoda went onto elaborate the significance of India-Sri Lanka relations and the special status it has reached in the recent past.

Commenting on the recent visit of the President of Sri Lanka to New Delhi, the high commissioner stated that the visit not only further strengthened the existing bilateral relationship, but laid a solid foundation towards a vibrant India-Sri Lanka economic partnership.

Further, Moragoda also explained the broader contours mentioned in the joint vision statement along with the importance of MoUs that were signed and underlined the necessity of both countries working towards reaping mutual benefits founded on the key pillars of connectivity and integration, which are expected to be implemented through five key enablers stated in the India-Sri Lanka Economic Partnership Vision.

Former Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Ambassador Ashok Kantha and Professor and Dean of the Office of International Affairs and Global Initiatives, Jindal University Ambassador Mohan Kumar also shared their views on the theme along with High Commissioner Moragoda.

The ICWA was established in 1943 by a group of eminent intellectuals led by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and Dr. H.N. Kunzru. Its principal objective was to create an Indian perspective on international relations and act as a repository of knowledge and thinking on foreign policy issues. The ICWA is funded by the Ministry of External Affairs and enjoys full autonomy.

Director General - ICWA Ambassador Vijay Thakur Singh, former Indian diplomats, officials of the ICWA, and members of the leading New Delhi based Think Tanks were also in attendance at the event along with scholars and research personalities.