Sri Lanka’s new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has said that he does not want to remain sandwiched between India and China. In an interview to Monocle magazine, Anura said that Sri Lanka does not want to get caught in the ongoing battle for dominance in the world.
He said, “We will neither participate in the race for dominance nor support any country involved in the race. Both the countries (India-China) are our good friends, I hope our partnership will be good in future.”
Disanayake said that he will also maintain good relations with the European Union (EU), Middle East and Africa. Sri Lanka’s foreign policy will be impartial. In fact, Sri Lanka was trapped in China’s debt trap during the rule of Rajapaksa Brothers. After the economic recession in 2022, Ranil Wickremesinghe improved relations with India.
Disanayake is of leftist ideology. Apart from this, he has also been a critic of India. In such a situation, there were apprehensions that after Disanayake’s victory in Sri Lanka, he would support China instead of India on global issues. However, on the very first day of becoming the President, he made it clear that his foreign policy would not support any one country.
Dissanayake said, “Sri Lanka is a bankrupt country. We have a debt of more than 28 lakh crore rupees. My priority is to overcome the country’s economic crisis.” Apart from India and China, the new President of Sri Lanka has also received congratulations from Pakistan and Maldives.
