Sitharaman calls for greater cooperation & investment by Indian firms in Sri Lanka

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday called for greater cooperation between industries of both India and Sri Lanka, as this would not only help Colombo save logistics costs and ensure stability in supply chains, but also reduce its dependence on external assistance in a gradual manner.

Addressing the India-Sri Lanka business summit in Colombo, Sitharaman said that in the current global scenario, countries are showing greater interest in regional or bilateral agreements rather than in multilateral cooperation, as these help smaller economies to insulate themselves from forex crises, energy and food shortages.

"India and Sri Lanka can benefit from such an arrangement and this will lead to a kind of economic integration. It will help Sri Lanka reduce its dependence on external assistance, by providing it's companies with greater know how and technological self reliance," the Finance Minister said.

She also stressed on the need for Sri Lanka to quickly identify common areas of cooperation: "As India is among the fastest growing economies of the world and is showing macroeconomic fundamentals which are absolutely strong and Sri Lanka needs them.

"The quickness which you have shown in coming out from last year's financial crisis, shows inherent strength of entrepreneurship here. Achieving the middle income economy status is good for Sri Lanka, but there is no harm in expanding the economy basket. Energy is a major item which can enter that basket. Solar and wind energy are big ticket items which can attract big investments in Sri Lanka," she noted.