Colombo: Assuring that India will always be a "dependable partner and reliable friend" of Sri Lanka, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said New Delhi is open to strengthening its relationship with Colombo on the basis of "mutual trust, mutual interest, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity".
Addressing a joint media briefing here with his Sri Lankan counterpart Dinesh Gunawardena, Jaishankar also said that the coronavirus pandemic has not been able to dent the bilateral ties and that the two countries are now looking at post-Covid cooperation.
"Covid hasn't been able to dent our bilateral cooperation. In fact, high level contacts were maintained and indeed strengthened during the past year and the virtual summit between our prime ministers was a high watermark for us in 2020," he said. "India will be a reliable partner in Sri Lanka's development," he tweeted. Rajapaksa said he and Jaishankar discussed ways to strengthen bilateral ties.
