Colombo:

The south Asian and Indian Ocean region is going through a “difficult time”, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Thursday in an exclusive interview to NDTV. Sri Lanka will hold elections on September 21 to elect the next President.

Mr Wickremesinghe, who took over as President when Sri Lanka was going through its worst-ever economic crisis, has steered the economy back towards normalcy. His re-election will prove to be an effective referendum on an unpopular International Monetary Fund austerity plan enacted by his government after the island nation’s unprecedented financial crisis.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, 75, is seeking a fresh mandate after claiming credit for stabilising the economy and bringing an end to months of food, fuel and medicine shortages.

In an exclusive interview to NDTV’s Gaurie Dwivedi, Mr Wickremesinghe spoke not just about the domestic challenges Sri Lanka faces, but also the challenges faced by the entire south Asian region, where India plays a leading part.

CRISES IN MALDIVES AND BANGLADESH

“It is a difficult time for the region. Maldives is going through an economic crisis and needs all the help they can get. Bangladesh too is facing a political crisis and we (as neighbours) should ensure that stability returns as soon as possible, after which elections can be held where a new parliament can then decide on a new prime minister,” the Sri Lankan President said, while speaking about the most recent and immediate regional challenges.

He went on to say that of all the others neighbours, “the issue of Bangladesh has the greatest impact on India”, adding that Sri Lanka too has significant investments in Bangladesh, which it views as a “friendly country”. He said he is concerned that if the crisis in Bangladesh is “not resolved in the short-to-medium term, it can have an impact on India.”

SRI LANKA’S CHALLENGES AND ANTI-INDIA REMARKS

In 2022, when Ranil Wickremesinghe took charge as President, Sri Lanka was dealing with civil unrest spurred by the economic crisis. There were protests across the nation which led to thousands storming the Presidential palace which was then occupied by Mr Wickremesinghe’s predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country. Mr Wickremesinghe took charge and restored calm and helped revived the economy by taking some tough decisions.

“Think of the time when all hope was lost… we didn’t have food, gas, medicine, or any hopes. Now you have a choice. Decide if you want to go back to that period of terror, or progress,” Mr Wickremesinghe had said in the closing days of his election campaign. India had stood by Sri Lanka during the crisis and helped revive its economy.

Mr Wickremesinghe told NDTV that it will be his priority to deepen economic ties, especially in infrastructure projects, adding that the two nations have shared cultural and economic ties for “thousands of years”.

His rivals in the elections however have made some strong anti-India remarks, and should they win the election, it may prove to be a challenge for New Delhi and perhaps even a complete reset in ties.

“Let us first watch the elections,” said the Sri Lankan President, hinting at his rivals’ remarks being amplified due to political rhetoric. But he went on to say that “There will be some groups which will make anti-India remarks. That can’t be stopped, but the aim is to minimise it.”

“As far as India-Sri Lanka friendship is concerned, it is decided by the people of both nations and they have already decided it,” he told NDTV.

Ranil Wickremesinghe faces two formidable challengers including Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, the leader of a once-marginal Marxist party tarnished by its violent past. The party led two failed uprisings in the 1970s and 1980s that left more than 80,000 people dead, and won less than four per cent of the vote in the last parliamentary elections.

But Sri Lanka’s crisis has proven an opportunity for Mr Dissanayaka, who has seen a surge of support.

According to news agency AFP, fellow opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, once dismissed as the princeling dynast of a former president assassinated in 1993 during the country’s decades-long civil war, is also favoured to make a strong showing. He has campaigned on a pledge to secure concessions from the IMF.

Speaking to NDTV about China, the Sri Lankan President said that “We’ve had good relations with China and we will continue to do so. But we will look at our interest first,” adding that “We will ensure that nothing (about China ties) will affect the security of India. Our dealings with China will work within the framework” of India’s national security.

GROWING CHINESE PRESENCE IN INDIAN OCEAN

Describing China as a “leading global power”, Mr Wickremesinghe said that “China is going to have an extended influence in the Indian Ocean region. They are already working with a number of countries.”

China is looking to grow its presence in the Indian Ocean and it is already working to build up its presence around the Suez Canal, said Mr Wickremesinghe, adding that China is looking to be a “leading global power after the United States.”

“Sri Lanka will keep working with China, but we will work on our own terms, keeping India’s interests in mind, after all India is just twenty miles away from us and we have shared historic ties” he told NDTV.

With an “all-weather ally” in Pakistan, a “pro-Beijing regime” in Maldives, an increasing presence in Nepal and deepening ties with Bangladesh’s new regime, China has been mounting its presence across south Asia and the Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka votes on Saturday to elect their next President, one of the candidates reportedly being openly “pro-China and anti-India”.