China pledges support for cyclone-hit Sri Lanka's rebuilding

Colombo, Jan 12 (PTI) China on Monday reaffirmed its "fullest cooperation" in the reconstruction and recovery of cyclone-hit Sri Lanka.

The assurance came during a bilateral meeting between Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, who arrived here earlier in the day.

According to Foreign Ministry officials, Wang made a brief stopover in Sri Lanka on his way back home from a visit to South Africa.

He was received by Herath, and the two held brief bilateral talks centring on the island nation's recovery and reconstruction.

In a post on X, Herath said that he was "pleased" to meet Wang during his short visit.

"I particularly requested the assistance of the Chinese government in infrastructure development including reconstruction of identified roads, railways and bridges which were affected," the Sri Lankan minister said.

"Minister Wang Yi assured his personal intervention to the said request and expressed confidence that Sri Lanka is on the right track for early recovery, and reaffirmed the Chinese Government’s fullest support," he added.

Herath also appreciated China's "timely and generous support to Sri Lanka in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah".

The two ministers also discussed further advancing bilateral cooperation in the areas of trade and investment, development cooperation and tourism.

Sri Lanka was hit by Cyclone Ditwah in November, causing widespread flooding and landslides, which resulted in over 600 deaths.

The cyclone wreaked havoc in the island nation and severely strained Sri Lanka's disaster-response capacity, and various countries, including China, are assisting in the rehabilitation process.

India was the first country to respond to Sri Lanka's international appeal for assistance under its Operation Sagar Bandhu. PTI CORR GRS GRS GRS