India starts debt-restructuring talks with Sri Lanka, vows support

FILE PHOTO: A man travels in a train as the Colombo harbour is seen, amid the country's economic crisis in Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 20, 2022. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

COLOMBO (Reuters) -India said on Tuesday it had begun talks with Sri Lanka on restructuring its debt and promised to support the crisis-hit neighbour mainly through long-term investments after providing nearly $4 billion of financial aid.

Sri Lanka, a tourism-dependent South Asian country of 22 million, is struggling with its worst economic crisis in more than seven decades, which has led to shortages of essentials and the ouster of a president.