India helping Sri Lanka in its time of crisis as much as possible: Rajnath

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that India is trying to help its neighbour Sri Lanka in its time of crisis as much as possible.

Addressing the launch of the second P17A stealth frigate 'Dunagiri' in Kolkata, the Defence Minister said that India has maintained warm and strong relations with all neighbouring countries.

"India wants friendly relations with all its neighbouring countries. For this, India keeps making constant efforts. Be it Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Maldives or Bangladesh, we have maintained our warm and strong relations with all. We all are aware of the difficult circumstances Sri Lanka is going through today. Although India has also been affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukrainian conflict, we are trying to help our friend Sri Lanka as much as possible," said Singh.

He said that during the COVID crisis India also helped countries like Nepal, Maldives and others by sending medicines and other essential items under various operations.

In a veiled reference to Pakistan, the Defence Minister further said that the country needs to learn from Bangladesh and do self-analysis because the way Bangladesh has pursued its development and made its mark in the region, shows that the nation will touch new heights of success in the times to come.

"One of our neighbouring countries, which is badly battling radicalisation and narrow-mindedness, is itself troubled by poverty, unemployment and terror, and sometimes it troubles India too. They need to learn a lot from Bangladesh and do self-analysis. The way Bangladesh has done its development and made its mark in the region shows that this nation will touch new heights of success in the times to come. India has always stood by Bangladesh in times of health, education, economy, connectivity and security needs, and will continue to stand with full readiness in the future. That is, if India is increasing its strength, then it is increasing not only for itself but also for its friends. This ship will prove to be a big asset for us in this direction, I believe," the Defence Minister said.

Singh said that Bangladesh is moving fast on the path of progress by adopting the path of modernization, moderation, secularism, and development of women and all other sections of society.

"Today, if Bangladesh is moving fast on the path of progress, then India is happy. It has progressed rapidly by adopting the path of modernization, moderation, secularism, development of women and all other sections of society, leaving behind nationalism, religious fanaticism and narrow-mindedness," he said.

He further said that the socio-economic development of Bangladesh has become a role model for many countries of the world.

Sri Lanka is facing a severe shortage of fuel and other essential supplies and is in the throes of its worst economic crisis with soaring inflation. The oil supply shortage has forced schools and government offices to close until further notice.

Reduced domestic agricultural production, a lack of foreign exchange reserves, and local currency depreciation have fuelled the shortages.

The economic crisis will push families into hunger and poverty - some for the first time - adding to the half a million people who the World Bank estimates have fallen below the poverty line because of the pandemic.