Following Sri Lanka’s economic collapse in 2022, India stepped in with billions of dollars in financial aid, including food, fuel and medicines.

During his meeting with Modi, Dissanayake thanked India for stabilising the country’s economy through financial support of US$4 billion and helping in restructuring the country’s debt.

“I think he [Dissanayake] would primarily be interested in ensuring that commercial support [from India] comes through because the country’s economy remains very fragile,” said Harsh Pant, an international relations professor at King’s College London.

While India’s aid to Sri Lanka would continue, Delhi might bring up concerns of private Indian investors about their projects in Sri Lanka coming under scrutiny by the local authorities, said Aditya Gowdara Shivamurthy, associate fellow, Neighbourhood Studies at Observer Research Foundation.