New Delhi: India has asserted that it stands firmly with the people of crisis-hit Sri Lanka and will continue to help the island nation attain stability and economic recovery through “democratic means”.
“We would stand with them in their quest for stability, economic recovery through democratic means and values, established democratic institutions and the constitutional framework. And I think the fact that this transition happened through the constitutional framework is a clear and positive indicator,” MEA spokesman Arindam Bagchi told reporters here.
On some ‘economic packages’, he said, “Now that they have a new President, and they will probably take more steps ahead to set up a government, and they also have these discussions with the IMF. Let’s see, what is required, what happens”.
Moreover, he hastened to add, “I think, we have extended assistance in various ways and some of it is
actually not even fully utilized, some of it has been utilized. So we will look at all that, as I said, we will continue
to stand with the people of Sri Lanka”.
India-China issues:
Answering a series of questions on India-China ties and border related issues, the MEA spokesman said, “I would like to say and reiterate what I have been saying earlier that we are engaged with the Chinese side. We are having this diplomatic as well as military discussions to resolve the issues from our perspective, which is disengagement, de-escalation, having some degree of stability and normalcy on the border areas”.
“I think that’s the path we would remain focused on,” he said adding such measures would certainly help
in improving the “overall relations”.
Mr Bagchi further said, “….our point as you know, has been a larger issue, which says that if you can resolve the issues particularly on disengagement and that would help in de-escalation and restoration of peace and tranquillity along the LAC in the Western sector and that would be the right step towards enabling a progress in the bilateral relations”.
“I don’t think I would be able to add much more to that in terms of assessment,” he added.
