{"id":125516,"date":"2022-05-19T17:16:31","date_gmt":"2022-05-20T00:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=125516"},"modified":"2022-05-19T17:16:31","modified_gmt":"2022-05-20T00:16:31","slug":"ranil-wickremesinghe-ropes-in-ex-maldives-president-to-coordinate-foreign-aid-for-crisis-hit-sri-lanka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2022\/05\/19\/ranil-wickremesinghe-ropes-in-ex-maldives-president-to-coordinate-foreign-aid-for-crisis-hit-sri-lanka\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranil Wickremesinghe\u00a0ropes in ex-Maldives President to \u2018coordinate\u2019 foreign aid for crisis-hit Sri Lanka"},"content":{"rendered":"

Meera Srinivasan Courtesy The Hindu<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed agrees to \u2018do everything to assist the people\u2019 of the island nation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has appointed Maldivian Parliamentary Speaker and former President Mohamed Nasheed as the coordinator\u201d for securing foreign aid to Sri Lanka that is facing an unprecedented economic crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Wickremesinghe<\/a> on May 19 held a closed-door meeting with his long-time friend Mr. Nasheed who is visiting Colombo, and discussed Sri Lanka\u2019s dire economic situation, while exploring possible sources of relief. During the discussions, the former President of Maldives generously offered to assist Sri Lanka in securing relief for the country from foreign nations. The Prime Minister accepted the former President\u2019s offer and appointed him to coordinate the relief efforts,\u201d Mr. Wickremesinghe\u2019s office said in a statement.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Nasheed \u2013 who has spent many of his years in exile in Sri Lanka<\/a> – has maintained close links with Sri Lankan leaders across political parties. Observing that the situation in Sri Lanka is extremely serious\u201d, he told The Hindu <\/em>in Colombo: We must all do whatever we can in times of need for our neighbour and cousin. I will do everything I can to assist the people of Sri Lanka.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Nasheed, known for his wide international appeal as an advocate of democracy and human rights, and a climate hero, will reach out to international partners and regional leaders on Sri Lanka\u2019s behalf, to secure immediate assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka\u2019s foreign reserves have depleted rapidly in the last few months, leaving the government desperate for dollars to import essentials including food, fuel, and medicines. Mr. Wickremesinghe has warned that the next few months would be the most difficult<\/a>\u201d for Sri Lankans, who are struggling amid acute shortages and record inflation. According to political sources in Colombo, Mr. Wickremesinghe is counting on the QUAD grouping \u2013 United States, India, Japan, and Australia \u2013 to lead the foreign aid consortium<\/a> that he mooted soon after his sudden appointment on May 12, amid political tumult in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also read: In Sri Lanka, an economic crisis foretold<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih\u2019s government in Male, led by Mr. Nasheed\u2019s Maldivian Democratic Party, follows an India first\u201d foreign policy, pursuing close defence and economic ties with India and the U.S. in over the last few years.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plea to India<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to The Hindu<\/em>, Mr. Nasheed made a specific appeal to Indian banks and the Indian business community to make themselves available\u201d for Sri Lanka at such a time. My plea to the generous people of India, especially entrepreneurs and businesspeople, is please make yourselves available for financing and debt restructuring to support Sri Lanka.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Financial institutions must underwrite\u201d Sri Lanka\u2019s future, Mr. Nasheed said, adding Indian entrepreneurs and banks are very well placed\u201d to do so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further, Mr. Nasheed observed that Maldivians will never forget\u201d the help extended by Sri Lanka and its leaders throughout the years. If I have a single penny, I will make sure Sri Lankans have it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Nasheed has closely followed and weighed in on developments in Sri Lanka in recent weeks. Following violent attacks that spilled over to the streets of Colombo and elsewhere on May 9, he said in a tweet: Oh my dearest Lanka, please don\u2019t go there. Please come back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Mr. Wickremesinghe\u2019s appointment last week, after Mahinda Rajapaksa stepped down as Prime Minister, the Maldivian leader tweeted again, saying: I wish Sri Lanka\u2019s new PM @RW_UNP the very best of luck. Throughout my political life, I\u2019ve always listened to Ranil\u2019s advice & it has never been found wanting. Sri Lanka is in trouble, but I\u2019ve no doubt the PM will do his best to bring back prosperity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih welcomed Mr. Nashid\u2019s appointment. Maldives will always stand with Sri Lankans and will support Sri Lanka in every possible way to overcome these difficult times,\u201d he tweeted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meera Srinivasan Courtesy The Hindu Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed agrees to \u2018do everything to assist the people\u2019 of the island nation Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has appointed Maldivian Parliamentary Speaker and former President Mohamed Nasheed as the coordinator\u201d for securing foreign aid to Sri Lanka that is facing an unprecedented economic crisis. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125516\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}