Sri Lanka needs to engage with neighbouring India to take advantage of its massive industrial growth, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Wednesday.

In his address at the Industry 2024 event in Colombo, Mr. Wickremesinghe said, “Our neighbour India is going through a period of massive industrial development. Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are also experiencing it. We should also join in.”

The President said he looked forward to discussing his talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to India with External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, who is arriving in Colombo on Thursday.

“Harnessing solar and wind energy and obtaining liquid hydrogen are areas where we look forward to working together with India,” Wickremesinghe, who is also the finance minister, said, adding that Adani’s projects in Sri Lanka have been at the forefront of these efforts.

Sri Lanka declared bankruptcy in the second quarter of 2022, the island’s first sovereign default.

Negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout began almost immediately and the first tranche of the US$2.9 billion facility was released in March 2023.

The cash-strapped country has launched a series of drastic reforms to address its economic problems.

Despite the pending issue of debt restructuring, three tranches of US$1 billion each of the US$2.9 billion bail-out have been implemented subject to reforms.

Wickremesinghe said ongoing talks on debt restructuring are expected to give the government until 2042 to repay the debt.

He said it was important for Sri Lanka to transform from the current import-oriented economy to an export-oriented economy.

“Since we are an import-oriented economy, we have to raise funds for imports. To become an export-oriented economy, we have to compete with our industries to become a production economy,” the President said.

The IMF praised Sri Lanka’s recovery efforts, saying the island nation’s economy cannot be secure unless the tough reforms needed are continued.