‘Don’t want Sri Lanka to be sandwiched between India, China,’ says President Dissanayake
Colombo would not align itself with any ‘power camp’ in a geopolitical fight, the National People’s Power leader said.
Join our WhatsApp Community to receive travel deals, free stays, and special offers!
- Join Now -
Join our WhatsApp Community to receive travel deals, free stays, and special offers!
- Join Now -
Sri Lanka should not get sandwiched between India and China, the island nation’s new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said in the September issue of Monocle.
It is unclear if his comments to the magazine were made before or after he won the Sri Lankan presidential election on Sunday.
The Leftist leader also told Monocle that Sri Lanka would not align itself with any “power camp” in a geopolitical contest.
“We don’t want to be sandwiched, especially between China and India,” the London-based magazine quoted him as saying. “Both countries are valued friends and, under an NPP [National People’s Power] government, we expect them to become close partners.”
Dissanayake also said he wanted to maintain relations with the European Union and countries in West Asia and Africa. He was sworn-in as the ninth executive president of Sri Lanka on Monday.
The leader of the National People’s Power alliance won 5.7 million votes, or 42.3% of the vote share. Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa secured 4.5 million votes or 32.8% of the vote share.
Dissanayake was declared the winner after a second round of counting. Under Sri Lanka’s electoral system, voters cast three preferential votes. A second round of counting is held to select a winner from among the top two candidates, if neither managed to secure 50% of the vote in the...
