A True Neighbor: India Provides 75 Buses to Sri Lanka To Give a Boost to Its Public Transport

As part of its aid in bolstering Sri Lanka's public transportation system, India on January 8, handed over 75 passenger buses to the indebted nation. The action has been taken as part of India’s "Neighborhood First" policy. Since Sri Lanka's independence in 1948, it has been experiencing the worst economic and humanitarian crises. India has been providing multifaceted aid to help the nation out of this difficult situation. With a population of around 22 million, Sri Lanka has struggled with shortages of basic supplies like food and fuel for months. Last May, they announced that their foreign exchange reserves had reached a record low and that they had experienced a debt default on foreign loans totaling more than $51 billion for the first time in the history of the nation.  India stepped up and provided Colombo with a financial lifeline of approximately $4 billion that the nation at the time desperately needed. Millions in loans and credit lines were made available in an effort to help the nation replenish its depleted foreign reserves. Dr. S. Jaishankar, the minister of external affairs, said that no other nation had provided Sri Lanka with this amount of help in 2022. Additionally, he mentioned the dire situation the nation was in and stated that India would play its part as a good neighbor and provide the required aid.