COLOMBO: India’s President Droupadi Murmu in late July congratulated her Sri Lanka counterpart Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was elected by the Parliament following the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

“I take the opportunity to extend my felicitations to you on your recent election as the 8th President of Sri Lanka by the Parliament of Sri Lanka,” President Murmu, who was also elected as the head of state a week ago, said. “I wish you all success as you assume the responsibilities and challenges of your high office at a critical juncture for Sri Lanka.

“As a close neighbour, India has been committed to assist the people of Sri Lanka in overcoming the challenges posed by the economic crisis, guided by our ‘Neighbourhood First’,” she said.

“It is my hope that long standing bilateral partnership, between our two countries, based on the shared heritage and deep people to people ties will further strengthen,” President Murmu added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi too congratulated Wickremesinghe and stated that India would continue to be supportive of the quest of the people of the island nation for stability and economic recovery, through established democratic means.

Facing an unprecedented economic crisis, Sri Lanka from January received almost $4 billion financial assistance from India to provide food, fuel, medicine and other basic essentials.