India’s assistance to Sri Lanka during the pandemic has been varied and need-based in nature

Continuing with its Covid-19 assistance to Sri Lanka, India on Friday initiated the delivery of 100,000 Rapid Antigen kits as a special gift to Sri Lanka on its 74th Independence Day.

A tweet by the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka on Friday said that India has initiated the delivery of 100,000 Rapid Antigen Self-Test Kits starting from Friday - Sri Lanka’s Independence Day - and the remaining kits will follow in the coming days.

"A special gift from a friend on #IndependenceDay!! #India continues its #COVID19 assistance to #SriLanka by initiating the delivery of 100,000 RAT kits from today. Remaining kits to follow in the coming days," the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka tweeted.

India’s assistance to Sri Lanka during the pandemic has been varied and need-based in nature. Close to 26 tons of essential medical supplies were gifted in April-May 2020.

Indian Naval Ships were again pressed into action for delivery of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) in August 2021 in response to a personal request for assistance by Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for urgent supply of LMO.

India had also provided currency swap of USD 400 million to Sri Lanka in July 2020.

In January 2021, the first consignment of Covid-19 vaccines was donated by India, enabling Sri Lanka to roll out their vaccination programme ahead of schedule.

Meanwhile, as Sri Lanka’s closest neighbour and long-standing partner, India is committed to assist Sri Lanka in its post-Covid economic recovery.

Earlier this week, The Export Import Bank (EXIM) of India and the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) signed a USD 500 million Line of Credit (LOC) Agreement for purchase of petroleum products on February 2.

Signing of the LOC Agreement is another landmark in our bilateral cooperation and is in continuation of India’s recent foreign exchange support of over USD 900 million to Sri Lanka.

These measures are in line with the discussions between the two sides during the visit of Sri Lanka’s Minister of Finance, Basil Rajapaksa to India in December last year.

With the recent support, India’s overall development assistance to Sri Lanka stands at close to USD 4 billion.