Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Sri Lanka’s new president, is looking to play it safe and strengthen its relations with India and China. He said Sri Lanka doesn’t want to be caught in between India and China’s power play.
Dissanayake, who is the new face of Sri Lankan politics, wants a friendly and peaceful neighborhood where the countries have good relations and not be sucked up into the whirlpool of geopolitics.
He made it clear that Sri Lanka will not be a competitor in that geopolitical rivalry. And neither will Colombo be sandwiched between China and India.
Sri Lanka’s new president says New Delhi and Beijing are valued friends, and the National People’s Power (NPP)-led government expects them to become close friends. With Dissanayake now as Sri Lanka’s newest leader, Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged to work with him to facilitate a more fruitful high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and China-Sri Lanka strategic cooperative partnership.
India Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated Dissanayake and expressed a desire to further strengthen the multifaceted cooperation between New Delhi and Colombo, which would also benefit the broader region.
India is very committed to providing development assistance, and capacity-building programs to help Sri Lankans achieve their aspirations.
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Sri Lanka Changing Politics
Dissanayake took the reins from Ranil Wickremesinghe to become the 10th President of Sri Lanka, an island nation where the political landscape has shifted dramatically in recent years. He has climbed the ranks in NPP, a Marxist party that adopted a center-left, social democratic platform.
Dissanayake has a great many challenges before him, including turning around Sri Lanka’s economy for good. Sri Lanka suffered its worst economic crisis in the country’s history in 2022 which led to an exodus of professionals to green pastures.
The crisis prompted the Sri Lankan rupee to plummet to a record low. There were protests about everything from inflation to fuel and bread prices to the people demanding a better standard of living.
India stepped in to help its neighbor, and so did China and other countries in terms of financial assistance. And now Dissanayake and his party have to steer Sri Lanka around for good.
