Friendship with all, but India is No. 1

The government did everything in its power to welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the three days in April 4-6 he was in Sri Lanka.

- BY JEHAN PERERA

The country is known for its hospitality and the government exceeded expectations in its hospitality. There were children to greet the prime minister at the airport along with six cabinet ministers. There was a large banner that described the Indian prime minister in glowing terms. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake also conferred the Sri Lanka Mitra Vibushana Award, the country’s highest award, to Prime Minister Modi in appreciation of friendship and cooperation. The role that the Indian government under him played in saving Sri Lanka from economic disaster three years ago would merit him nothing less. The gesture was not merely humanitarian. It was also an acute expression of regional leadership rooted in a philosophy of “neighbourhood first,” a cornerstone of Prime Minister Modi’s foreign policy.

India has a key role to play as a stabilising actor in South Asia, especially when regional neighbours falter under economic or political pressure. It has yet to reach its full potential in this regard as seen in its relations with Pakistan and Bangladesh. But with regard to Sri Lanka, India has truly excelled. Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka at this time carried symbolic weight beyond the economic and political speech, noted that Prime Minister Modi has been frequently critiqued for creating debt dependencies India’s model, emphasis es partnership, cultural affinity, and long-term capacity building.