India will stand firmly with Sri Lanka during crises says Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
COLOMBO – India will “always stand firmly” with Sri Lanka whenever the island nation faces a crisis, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday (8), as he began his maiden visit to Sri Lanka.
Addressing members of the Indian diaspora in Colombo, Singh said India and Sri Lanka shared deep cultural and civilizational ties that had provided a strong foundation for the growth of bilateral relations, and pledged, “India will always stand firmly with Sri Lanka whenever the island nation faces a crisis”.
Singh, also known as the Raksha Mantri, highlighted India’s economic transformation over the past decade. Describing the country as one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies, he said India contributes more than 16% to global growth and that its economy had doubled from around US$2 trillion in 2014 to approximately US$4 trillion over the past decade.
Despite global economic challenges, Singh said the Indian economy grew by 7.8% during the first quarter of the 2026–27 financial year.
He also pointed to improvements in macroeconomic stability, stating that average inflation over the past 12 years had remained at around 4.7%, compared with between 10% and 11% during the preceding period.
Singh said India’s goods and services exports had increased significantly, while the country had also seen rapid growth in electronics and mobile phone manufacturing.
Noting that India had emerged as the world’s second-largest mobile phone manufacturer, he said the number of manufacturing units had increase from just two in 2014 to more than 300.
India’s defence sector had also undergone significant expansion, Singh said, noting that defence exports had increased from around Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion) 12 years ago to a record approximately Rs 39,000 crore (Rs 390 billion).
He added that India’s defence budget had increased from around Rs.2 lakh crore (Rs 2 trillion) in the 2013–14 financial year to Rs 7.25 lakh crore (Rs 7.25 trillion) in 2025–26.
Singh also highlighted India’s growing international economic engagement, stating that the country had concluded trade deals with 38 countries over the past 12 years, including free trade agreements with eight major countries.
Referring to the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement as the ‘Mother of All Deals’, he said the agreement would provide India with greater access to the European market and reflected the country’s growing economic and diplomatic influence.
The Indian Defence Minister credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with strengthening India’s global standing, saying the country’s voice now carried greater weight internationally.
He also commended the Indian diaspora for acting as a bridge between the people of India and Sri Lanka.
Singh further highlighted India’s growing start-up ecosystem, describing it as the third-largest in the world, and pointed to the rapid growth of digital public infrastructure, broadband connectivity and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
He said India’s economic growth had also contributed to improvements in social welfare, claiming that approximately 250 million people had been lifted out of poverty and that social security coverage had expanded from around 250 million people in 2014 to approximately 950 million today.
Singh also pointed to the expansion of highways, airports and other infrastructure, as well as progress towards the full electrification of Indian Railways.
Sri Lankan Cabinet Minister Saroja Savithri Paulraj, Western Province Governor Hanif Yusoof, Deputy Minister Sundaralingam Pradeep, Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha, senior Indian civil and military officials and members of the Indian community attended the event.
Singh, who is on an official 3-day visit to Sri Lanka, is leading a high-level delegation comprising senior officials from the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of External Affairs. He is slated to hold consultations with the leadership of Sri Lanka on a range of issues during his visit.
-ENCL
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