ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s newly elected Leftist President Anura Kumara Dissanayake met Ambassadors of the United States and Russia to Colombo while the new leader is yet to spell out his government’s foreign policy.
Dissanayake, the leader of Marxists Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) coalition won the presidential election and is running an interim government with a three-member cabinet after dissolving the parliament.
Dissanayake’s party in the past has been against India and raised concerns over Indian expansionism in the island nation. However, during the election campaign, Dissanayake and his party members were silent on his foreign policy.
Political and foreign policy analysts have seen Dissanayake as a pro-Chinese and pro-Russian due to his JVP’s affiliation to communism.
On Tuesday, the President met with U.S. Ambassador Julie J. Chung at the Presidential Secretariat before meeting the Russian envoy to Colombo Levan S. Dzhagaryan, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said.
Ambassador Chung emphasized the importance of fostering robust bilateral relations between the United States and Sri Lanka with particular focus being placed on enhancing diplomatic relations between the two nations, along with fostering economic and social cooperation in areas of mutual interest to both nations, the PMD said.
During the meeting, Ambassador Dzhagaryan conveyed the congratulatory message from Russian President Vladimir Putin to Dissanayake on his recent election.
“The discussions focused on strengthening the longstanding bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Russia,” the PMD said.
“Both parties highlighted the importance of enhancing cooperation in key areas such as trade, investment, culture, and education, while reaffirming their commitment to deepening diplomatic ties for the mutual benefit of both nations.”
Sri Lanka’s past governments faced consequences for following pro-U.S., pro-Indian, and pro-Chinese foreign policies, despite the country officially saying it was following a non-aligned foreign policy.
“The new president faces limited policy options, having to implement painful austerity measures led by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and facilitated by India (and the West),” Rajni Gamage and Harindra B. Dassanayake, two researchers, jointly wrote in a column published in a column of the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy website.
“However, Dissanayake’s perceived ideological and political proximity to China has cast uncertainty over his foreign policy direction.”
Both envoys of India and China to Sri Lanka met President Dissanayake even before the oath taking of his after the election.
Previous leader Ranil Wickremesinghe followed a ‘friends of all, enemy on none’ foreign policy. But government officials said his government had to act on some issues due to the geopolitical cold war between India and China within the country. (Colombo/October 1/2024)