Indian external affairs minister S. Jaishankar met the Sri Lankan leadership in Colombo on Monday and assured them of “India’s continued cooperation and understanding” as the island nation deals with its worst economic crisis in decades.

Jaishankar, who is in Colombo to attend the Bimstec (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) ministers’ meeting and also for bilaterals at a time Sri Lanka is facing bankruptcy, interacted with the Rajapaksa triumvirate who hold the posts of President, Prime Minister and finance minister.

Reuters reported that the Rajapaksa government has sought an additional credit line of $1 billion from India to import essentials.

There was no official word from either side. This is in addition to the $1-billion credit line already pledged by India.

Jaishankar, who himself tweeted about his meetings, did not divulge the details of the conversations he had with the Lankan leadership. He began his day with a meeting with finance minister Basil Rajapaksa, after which he tweeted: “Discussed the economic situation and India’s supportive response. We will continue to be guided by Neighbourhood First.”

His ongoing tour — first to the Maldives and now to Sri Lanka — is part of the Narendra Modi government’s Indian Ocean outreach in pursuit of the Sagar (Security and Growth for All in the Region) policy.

India is also trying to wean away the two capitals from China, which has expanded its footprint considerably in the region over the past decade.

Jaishankar called on Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and “assured him of India’s continued cooperation and understanding”.

The Indian minister also engaged with Tamil politicians of the island nation.

On his meeting with a delegation of the Tamil National Alliance, Jaishankar said: “Discussed realisation of the aspirations of the Tamils of Sri Lanka for equality, justice, peace and dignity.”

After his meeting with the Tamil Progressive Alliance, where the two delegations discussed the socio-economic issues of the Indian-origin Tamil community in Sri Lanka, Jaishankar iterated India’s commitment to its development partnership with the community.